A Moment's Peace
by Kelleher
Summary: Picking up right where "The Battle of Coruscant" left off, Leia, Han, and Luke begin to consider their paths in a galaxy where the war may be ending, but their new lives are just beginning. Luke learns more about the fall of Anakin and the Jedi while Han takes Leia on a wedding trip so she can start to recover from the physical and emotional wounds of the war.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter One

Leia felt Han begin to sway sleepily as she stood resting her head on his chest. She quickly let go of Luke's hand and turned to face her new husband, ready to hold him up should he keel over snoring.

"Okay, hotshot, that's it," she said, motioning for Chewie to join them. "That stimshot's totally worn off and you need to sleep."

"Yeah, I think you might be right, sweetheart," Han mumbled.

As Chewie hurried over to support his fading friend, Leia kissed Luke's cheek. "Remember what I said, Luke. All of it."

Luke nodded at Han. "You sure you don't need my help?"

"Chewie and I can manage. He just need a lot of sleep, and so do I. You, however, need to stay here and make friends." She looked pointedly at Adria Pier, whom Lando was trying, without much apparent success, to charm.

"So now that you're my married sister, you're pushy?" Luke grinned.

"When have I ever NOT been pushy?" Leia replied, slipping under Han's arm to support him as they made their way to the exit of the gathering room. Hearing the applause and whistles of their friends increasing as she and Han neared the doorway, Leia realized that there was one Alliance wedding tradition that they had yet to keep. It was certainly not something that would happen at an Alderaanian wedding or, for that matter, at the kind of Corellian folk wedding that they would have had if they'd married on Han's homeworld, but the Alliance had developed a few of its own somewhat more physically expressive traditions given that they were a people at war.

"Think you can manage the Wedding Night Kiss?" Leia said to Han.

He raised an eyebrow. "I didn't think you'd want to do that."

She turned to face him in the doorway, a mischievous grin on her face.

"Oh, hells yes," she said, "and since it's probably going to be the last thing you manage to do before Chewie has to carry you the rest of the way to our quarters, let's make it a good one."

Han laughed and roused himself enough to pull her into his arms, his mouth crashing down on hers in a passionate kiss. She tangled her hands in his hair, pulling him closer, barely hearing the whoops and hollers of their friends as Han bent her body back and continued to explore her mouth with his tongue as she returned the kiss in kind. Soon enough, she felt Han's hand snaking its way down to her bottom.

 _Well,_ Leia thought, _what's good for the nerf is good for the nerfel_ …and she reached down to squeeze Han's rear-end herself, much to the loud surprise and delight of their friends.

Han pulled her back up to her feet as he broke the Wedding Night Kiss and turned to the gathering.

"And nobody in the Alliance is ever gonna top that, but have fun trying," Han grinned before turning awkwardly to leave, leaning on Leia for support.

XXXXXX

Chewie helped his friend, who was somewhere between sleep and wake, down onto the bed in the Princess' quarters. Before leaving the newlyweds alone, Chewie caught Leia up in a huge Wookiee hug. He'd wanted to say something to her all evening, but he hadn't had the opportunity.

**Princess** he growled. ** You may not believe me, but I have known for years that you and Han belonged together. His heart grew the moment you met. And, I believe yours soon grew as well.**

Leia nodded at the truth of Chewie's words. She often had difficulty understanding him, despite her efforts to learn Shriiwook, but after he experiences with the Force over the last week, she had tentatively reached out with her nascent skills and found his words – or, perhaps, his thoughts – to be clear to her.

**You are both stubborn humans** Chewie observed. **But as long as you continue to allow your hearts to grow and make room for the other, despite how much you may want to kill each other at times, you will find your happiness grows over the years as well. So that is what I wish for you.**

"Thank you, Chewie," Leia answered, both touched and amused by how well Chewie knew them both. "And thank you for bringing him home. He told me how much you did to you keep the Falcon together when he couldn't. I can never repay you for that."

**Yes, you can. Just keep him away from the Kessel Run, as I did not enjoy it at all.**

"Deal, Chewie," she said as Chewie left with a laugh. "Deal."

Leia entered the lockcode into the alarm next to her door and lowered the lights to dim before turning to look at her husband. He lay fully-clothed and sprawled across the bed, out like a light. She chuckled as she saw a little drool making its way out the corner of his half-open mouth.

 _Leave it to us, Han, to have a wedding night involving drool and sleeping fully dressed._

Fighting the effects of exhaustion herself, even though it was early in the evening cycle, she gently pulled Han's boots off and laid them next to the bed. He woke and mumbled something unintelligible, his eyes fluttering half open.

"Hey, sleepyhead," she said quietly, "can you sit up for a minute so we can give your bactapad room to breathe by getting that uniform off you?"

"Yeah," he yawned. "I should have a lewd response for that, but…"

"But you haven't slept for four days, so you're forgiven." She undid the jacket and helped him out of it, then he wriggled out of the dress pants and undershirt, dropping them in a pile on the floor before slumping over on the bed again, wearing only his shorts and the bactapad wrapped around his waist.

Leia looked down at him for a moment, wondering how many years the trials of the last week had permanently etched on both of their faces, before kissing his forehead softly.

"I'll be right back," she whispered.

"Don't go—"

"I'm just going to change out of this."

She frowned, realizing that she had nothing else; all she had was the blue dress she'd borrowed to wear to the memorial service this morning – which she would sooner burn than ever wear again - and the white dress that had become her wedding gown, which she'd found bunched on the floor of her closet in the old Alderaanian consulate. She sat down on her side of the bed, kicking off the slippers she'd borrowed and quickly downing a mouthfresh tablet.

 _I truly have nothing…not one possession,_ she thought. _But I have a "side of the bed" now_. _A side of the bed I share with the man I thought I'd lost forever. So I have everything._

As she pulled down the covers to get into bed, Han rolled over, snoring softly. She bit her lip, hesitating about doing what she was considering. On Alderaan, she would have been wearing some sort of ridiculously chaste bridal trousseau. Of course, on Alderaan, she would have been married to some ridiculous noble she didn't even know very well. She smiled; there were no rules or improprieties anymore, just a husband and a wife who had fallen deeply in love and chosen, of their own free will, to commit their lives to each other. She unhooked her bra and dropped it on the floor, then curled up against Han, needing to feel the warmth of his skin against hers with nothing between them.

"Huh?" Han woke up as he felt her body, warm against his.

Leia laughed. "I should have known you would wake up when you felt a breast, Han."

"It's not just any breast, it's a perfect breast," he replied, trying to keep his eyes open and failing. His lips brushed her shoulder has he rested his head in the curve of her neck, his hand gently cupping her breast. "But this isn't the wedding night you deserve…"

"I think it's the perfect wedding night," she countered, running her hand through his hair, "because it's ours."

"I promise I'll be spectacular in the morn…" Han's voice trailed off as he gave himself over to sleep.

"Flyboy," she whispered, "I already think you are."

With that, Leia too closed her eyes, and they slept safe in each other's embrace.

 **Reviews are what keeps a fan fic writer going, so please review!**


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter Two

 **sorry, for those of you who read me for Han/Leia...there's no Han/Leia in this chapter (you can content yourselves by knowing that they are sound asleep in each other's arms, as they didn't sleep for days before their wedding). I need this story to make progress on the Luke/Leia family history story as well, so I'm trying to treat it as I would a novel, with several plots at once.**

Luke scanned the room, wondering if he really should try to do what Leia jokingly ordered. He spied Adria by the doorway with Lando on one side, Wedge on the other, each likely trying to one-up the other to impress her. If Luke intended to make his move, he'd have to do it now.

 _Moves_ , Luke snorted to himself. He'd spent the last eighteen months immersed in the world of the Jedi, and they were notably short on moves, unless doing backflips over Sith Lords counted as 'moves.' _Oh well_ , _maybe she likes awkward farmboys with impressive titles and romantic histories comprised of fooling around with farmgirls next to a parked landspeeder until the sand that got everywhere made it too uncomfortable to continue._

"Jedi Skywalker." His name rang out just as he took a step toward Adria. Turning, he found Mon Mothma approaching him with Carlist Rieekan close behind. Luke hoped he wasn't flushed from the distinctly non-Jedi thoughts he'd been entertaining.

"Ma'am," Luke inclined his head. With a quick glance at Rieekan, he confirmed that, true to his word, Rieekan had told Mon nothing about Essag's revelations.

"Carlist tells me that you would like to request access to the Imperial Records."

"Yes," Luke replied. "I'd like to see if they retained any of the archives of the Jedi. Master Yoda believed them to have been lost, but–"

Mon hesitated, frowning momentarily. Leia had told Mon that Luke trained under Master Yoda, but that didn't prevent Mon from feeling a flare of anger whenever she heard the name.

"What is it?" Luke asked.

She shook her head. "Master Yoda – and General Kenobi. My feelings about them are…conflicted. The Republic was falling, the Jedi were being hunted and destroyed throughout the galaxy. We needed their help, and instead of staying and fighting, they disappeared. They ran." She remembered those days, losing friends and allies in the fall of the Republic, trying to shepherd her family off Coruscant while plotting the beginnings of a resistance with Bail Organa and Jan Dodonna. "Heroes may fail…but they ran away."

"And that's understandably colored your opinion of the Jedi ever since," Luke finished.

"I'm afraid my opinion of the Jedi was compromised long before that," she replied.

"I'd like to know –" Luke started.

She shook her head. "Not tonight, Jedi Skywalker—"

"Please. It's just Luke."

"Luke. Not tonight. There is too much to discuss, and this should be a night of celebration. Please, celebrate with your friends," she encouraged him. "As for the records, I will allow you access to the Imperial Palace as long as General Rieekan accompanies you. I can't allow those records – if they are there to be discovered – to be yours alone."

Rieekan raised an eyebrow at Luke, silently encouraging him to accept Mon's offer. He needn't have worried, as Luke quickly agreed to the conditions. Those archives weren't his alone; they should be studied by both Jedi and those who were not sensitive to the Force so that hidden Jedi information could never be used against the galaxy.

Mon and Carlist bid him a good night before leaving, Carlist promising Luke they would schedule time to being their search of the Palace immediately.

"Carlist," Mon said to her general as they walked down the corridor toward the many living quarters on the _Freedom_ , "should I trust Jedi Skywalker?"

Carlist took a moment to consider his answer, although he understood the question. Both he and Mon had come of age at a time when darkness was falling on the galaxy, and the Jedi – despite their storied history – were not only powerless to prevent it, but had, in his opinion, supported the government that would turn against the people for far too long. Mon had lost her faith in the Jedi long before the Republic finally fell, when she saw holos of Master Yoda standing side-by-side with Senator Palpatine at a victory celebration on Naboo. If she had known not to trust the unctuous Palpatine, how could the allegedly powerful Jedi Master have failed to recognize he was standing next to the man who would lead the galaxy to ruin?

Carlist chose his words carefully. "I would trust Luke Skywalker with my life. Not because he's a Jedi, but because he's Luke."

Mon nodded, deep in thought, as she turned down the corridor toward her chambers.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Feeling his natural awkwardness threatening to overwhelm his trained gravitas, Luke took a deep breath before heading over to the table where Lando was trying to get Adria, Sevik, and Wedge to join him in a game of freeform sabacc. Luke had learned a lot about sabacc from Han and Wedge, but Lando's card sharp skills dwarfed his own. _If he wanted to talk to Adria, though…_

"Deal me in," Luke said, sitting down.

Lando eyed him suspiciously. "How do I know you aren't going to use your Jedi powers to—"

"I think using the Force to cheat at cards with your friends is a little Dark Side for me," Luke parried, smiling.

Lando considered it for a moment. The Force was one thing, but this was cards. Lando would use any trick at his disposal to win, even if that trick risked turning him into another Darth Vader.

"Come on, nerfherder," Wedge interjected. "I've been beating this chrackotusk at cards for years, Jedi or not."

Luke laughed. Wedge's words were true; if Lando had to look out for anyone at this table, it was Wedge, who very occasionally even beat Han at sabacc. Beyond that, though, Wedge's willingness to make light of Luke's knighthood made Luke happier than he could say. His status was new to his comrades from Rogue Squadron, and he'd been worried that they would suddenly treat him very differently. If they were still calling him a chrackotusk, all was well. The thought that they likely would soon treat him differently once they learned about Anakin crossed Luke's mind like a sudden raincloud, but he quickly pushed it away. That was a concern for another time.

"Worry about this guy—" Luke pointed at Sevik. "He can hide in a crowd like nobody's business."

Lando, starting to deal, suddenly held back on the cards. "What does that mean?"

Sevik shared a wry smile. "I've been an Alliance spy in the Imperial officer corps for over a decade. But I'm sorry to say that Imperial officers were disciplined for playing betting games, so I haven't played sabacc for eleven years."

Lando broke into a big grin and resumed his deal. "You're definitely in."

"I noticed you're all overlooking the sabacc experience of the one female at the table," Adria chimed in as she checked her initial draw. "Good thing my uncle taught me the basics after he won the Ord Mantell Primestar Tourney back in the day."

Lando's jaw sagged open as Adria casually marked her bet with a credit.

"You boys are in for a long night," she concluded, sipping a Pomedor fizz and smiling at Luke.

Luke could have sworn his heart skipped a beat as he smiled back.

"You know," Adria commented, looking at her cards to make sure they hadn't pulsed yet, "I could have sworn I heard the Princess call you her brother in the medcenter."

Luke froze for a moment. It was entirely possible that, with Leia in such desperate circumstances, they hadn't been aware of who overhead them talking. They'd been more afraid that so soon after they'd learned of their bond, they were saying goodbye.

"Do we look like siblings?" Luke turned his innocent blue eyes toward Adria.

"Not in the slightest," she admitted.

"Luke, stop flirting and bet," Lando ordered.

Luke looked at his cards, absently. His mind was suddenly anywhere but on the game. _Hell of a way to impress a girl,_ he thought. _Lie about your family in your first conversation…_

Then he realized that explaining his relationship to Leia would soon be the least difficult explanation he'd have to offer, and he decided to pull back on the 'moves' thing until he and Leia knew how their family history problem was going to play out. At least, sitting here, he found himself among friends. For the moment, that would have to be enough.

"Yes sir," Luke replied, tossing two credits into the pot.


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter Three

 **Sorry for the delay...life got in the way...**

Han watched Leia as she slept on, her head still resting on his chest and her small body pressed tight against his. They'd both been so exhausted that neither one of them had moved all night, and now he desperately needed to stretch. While he no longer felt the throbbing pain of the flashburn, it also felt like the bactapad Leia had wrapped around him was about to cut off the blood supply to his spleen. If he moved, though, he'd no doubt wake Leia, and she needed whatever rest she could get, so he remained still, studying her face.

He could see the toll the last year and, specifically, the last two weeks, had taken on her. She was too thin, too physically and emotionally hurt. The round-faced girl he'd first fallen in love with had given way to a woman with small dark half-moons under her eyes. He could feel her ribs against his chest. And she'd told him yesterday that she felt broken. He knew that wasn't true – he doubted anything could break that spirit he loved – but she needed to be free of the war and the Alliance for a while. She'd probably never be that round-faced girl again, Han thought, trying not to remind himself that his wife was barely more than a teenager when he fell for her, but she needed time to regain her strength without seventeen different people making impossible demands on her.

Leia stirred slightly and murmured in her sleep. Han couldn't quite make out what she was saying, but it didn't sound happy.

"Shh," he whispered softly. "Shh. Sleep, sweetheart."

Her murmurs stopped; Han saw her squeeze her eyes tightly closed, as if she were struggling not to allow herself to wake. A wry smile formed on Han's lips. He understood immediately the battle she was fighting.

"It's okay to open your eyes, Leia," he said. "It wasn't a dream."

Slowly, she opened her eyes and, seeing Han's reassuring gaze looking down at her, smiled weakly. She'd been half certain that when she opened her eyes she would discover she still lay alone and bereft in the temple of the Alderaanian consulate.

"How'd you know?" she whispered.

Han slid down the bed to lie face-to-face with his wife. "Because ten minutes ago when I woke up, I'd been afraid that I'd find I was alone and hoping for death in my cabin on the Falcon. Then I felt your breath on my shoulder and this bactapad cutting into my gut—"

As Han tore the pad off, Leia quickly lifted her head, ready to bully him into a medcenter if the wound didn't look better. To her vast relief, delicate new skin covered the flashburn.

"-yeah, it did its job, I'm good. And then I felt your breast against me," Han continued, raising a suggestive eyebrow, "and then the last thing I wanted was to keep my eyes clos—"

His voice was silenced by Leia's lips voraciously finding his, her tongue forcing its way into his very willing mouth as she rolled on top of him, wrapping her legs around his hips. She wasn't sure why she was initiating this so desperately. She didn't really care. All she knew was—

"I need you," she whispered to her husband. "I need you now."

Han, surprised but not at all unhappy with this turn of events, looked up at Leia. Her face was flushed with desire, and he could see that some part of her knew her pleading demand put her in uncharted territory, but she didn't seem at all uncertain of what she wanted. He could feel his own body responding instantly and completely.

"You sure you want it to be like this, Leia? I mean, now that you know I can take things slow and be the most gentle and romantic guy in the galaxy?"

She shook her head, hoping she could make them both understand why her need was so overwhelming. "I need to know we're alive in the most intense way possible."

The last thing he wanted to do was hurt her by taking her as entirely as he knew he could if he gave his desires free rein. But he knew exactly how she felt; he felt the same way, as if only being deep inside her as soon as possible would completely convince him that this was real.

"Please," Leia whispered.

He wrapped his hands in her hair and pulled her toward him. His lips found their way to her neck, her collarbone, her breasts. He rolled her over, his hands working quickly to rid them both of their few remaining undergarments. Leia shivered as his expert fingers and lips teased her, finding her more ready for him than he could have imagined.

"I need you too," his voice rumbled in her ear as his strong body pressed against her, though Han tried even now to avoid putting his weight against her surgical scar. "I need you now. And always."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"There's an orbiting ship requesting approval to enter the Coruscant system, Chancellor Mothma," the Calamarian officer saluted as Mon entered her makeshift office in the Chandrilan embassy on Coruscant.

"Chancellor?" Mon said quizzically. She certainly wasn't chancellor of anything at the moment.

The officer hesitated. "We're not quite sure what to call you right now, ma'am."

Mon laughed briefly. "I'm sure the holocasters will come up with some horrific titles once they realize they're no longer under state control, but for now, as there is no government, I believe I'm still without a title. Now, about this ship?"

"Yes, ma'am," the office replied. "It's an H1 class shuttle from Trequalit-2. We intercepted it at system's edge. No significant armaments, but members of the royal family aboard."

Mon nodded and pressed her comm. "Carlist, that ship from Trequalit-2 –"

"Yes, Mon," Rieekan sighed.

"I take it from your sigh that we're both thinking the same thing."

"I'm not thinking, I know. Our scan detected significant quantities of fantubis and pellegrite aboard."

"Very well," Mon shook her head. "Make them wait for a while, then let them land at the Central Platforms. I'll take care of it in my own good time."

She felt her annoyance flare as she commed off. As if she didn't have more important things to handle. In some ways, no matter who was in control, the galaxy would never change.

XXXXXXXXX

"Gotta admit, that's not how I thought our first married sex would go," Han said through his post-coital haze, twirling a piece of Leia's hair in his fingers.

Leia felt herself start to blush. Now that her desperate need had been sated, she felt a little bit awkward. She didn't intend to feel sexually awkward for long, but she was still finding her way. She'd have to find some of those how-to articles that other women read on their datapads while she was reading budgets and battle reports.

"Sorry, Han, I was—"

"Sorry?" he snorted, looking at her incredulously. "This ain't no time for you to be saying sorry. I'm glad you're as up-front about what you want here as you are in every other area of your life." He smirked at her for a moment, then fell silent as, running his thumb down her side, he felt her new scar. "But maybe I should be saying sorry."

"What is it?"

"I didn't hurt you, did I?"

"No," she said, kissing his chest. "You didn't hurt me, Han. You made me feel alive."

"You were crying," he wasn't going to let her get away with sidestepping his question. Hurting her was the very last thing he'd want to do, but he had abandoned himself to his yearning for her more than he'd intended.

She shook her head. "Not from pain. At this time yesterday, I was headed to a memorial service where your 'extraordinary valor and ultimate sacrifice' were to be eulogized." She bit her lip and looked away. "I thought that one night was all we were ever going to have. So those tears this morning were from joy. Relief. Gratitude. That we may have thousands more mornings like this one."

He nodded, smiling. "Thousands of mornings like this one. I like the sound of that."

"Besides, flyboy," Leia raised a mischievous eyebrow, "you could always show me what you had intended the _second_ time we have married sex." Her hand trailed down his firm stomach and pelvis until she could stroke him. _Gods, Leia,_ she thought, _you are being up-front about what you want…_

Han sighed with pleasure as her hand continued to explore. He brushed her hair away from her ear. "Yeah, I can do that the second time…and the third time…and the ten thousandth time…"

She shivered at the sensation as his lips and tongue found her earlobe. He'd sought out and found that sensitive spot she didn't even know she had very efficiently. She'd have to find his.

"Ten thousandth," she murmured, "that'll take at least a year."

"Six months, tops," he said teasingly, although even in the midst of their foreplay he remembered unhappily that he'd probably be away from her on Alliance missions for most of the next ten months.

"Six months?" Leia parried. "Guess I'm going to be a little sore…"

"Are you complaining because I'm gigantic?"

"Is that what they call gigantic?" she teased.

Han's comm suddenly beeped, jolting them both out of their newly-discovered use for their usual banter.

"Dammit," Han looked at the chrono next to the bed and let his head fall to Leia's chest. "That's Madine reminding me I have a debrief with him at ten hundred."

"Ten hundred?" Leia quickly looked at her chrono. "We slept that long? Gods…"

Han weighed his options. Madine probably wouldn't have much recourse if he chose to conveniently forget their meeting. He could stay here with Leia and ignore the world. But he knew his relationship to the Alliance leadership had irrevocably changed yesterday. Not only had they supported him, and Leia, but they gave every impression of being happy to do it – except, perhaps, Dodonna, whom Han noticed spent the wedding festivities looking like he was sucking on sour kincefruit. No, this wasn't time to go rogue on a meeting with Madine, no matter how much more enjoyable his current circumstances.

"I think I have to go to this Madine thing, Leia," Han sighed. "Even though I'd rather stay here and be spectacular."

"I know," she replied. "I have to go to Mon's office as well. She said there was something she needed to give to me." Seeing Han's quizzical look. Leia shrugged. "Probably work of some sort."

Han stood up, stretching the side that still felt like someone was bludgeoning him with a hammer every time he moved too quickly. "What's the shuttle schedule to the planet?"

"Every fifteen minutes," Leia said. "No way can both of us use that tiny fresher and get to the next shuttle. You go – I'll take the next one."

"We could use the shower together and save time," Han grinned lasciviously.

"If we do that, hotshot, you're DEFINITELY not making the next shuttle," she grinned back.

"Then you hold that thought for when we get back here later." His glance swept across her small, naked form as she got out of bed. Then, with a wink, he shut the door of the fresher behind him, cursing softly as he realized the shower was sonic and not water.

Leia laughed at his Corellian imprecations as she wrapped herself in a sheet and sat down on their bed. She wished she could stay alone with him in these quarters, with the door locked and the galaxy shut out, forever. Wanting to be alone with her husband was a big part of that desire, but she acknowledged that it wasn't the only impetus for her wishful thinking. She'd meant it yesterday when she told Han she felt broken. All of the losses over the years and all of the truths she'd just discovered were clawing at the edges of her consciousness, demanding that she give them due attention. And right outside the ship was a shattered galaxy also demanding her attention, and demanding she play the part she'd been raised to play, when she'd never felt less comfortable in her public skin than she did right now. Then again, who knew what would happen when she told Mon about her relationship to Vader. Perhaps she and Han would find themselves on the run yet again. He'd manage that reality, somehow, but right now, she doubted she could.

 _I'm not strong enough…_ she thought. _I just can't. I can't tell Mon right now. I need to pull myself together, somehow, first, but the only place I feel strong and whole is in Han's arms, and that's because I'm leaning on his strength. I won't be able to do that when I have this conversation with Mon. And Mon will be distraught when she hears…right after she married us even though she knew so many wouldn't approve…I should have told her already. But I can't…_

Leia bit her lip; she didn't want Han to come back into the room and find her crying; she'd done more than enough of that. She didn't notice that Han was standing in the doorway of the fresher, watching with concern as she sat lost in thought.

"Hey," he said quietly as he crossed the room to her, "the fresher's all yours. I'm gonna head down to the planet – I'll see you in the command center?"

She nodded. "I love you."

"I know." Han slipped into Lando's military dress jacket. He leaned over to kiss the top of Leia's head. "I love you too."

"I know," she smiled up at him before getting up and heading toward the fresher.

As Han left, he promised himself that he would push his luck, both with Madine and with Mothma. He'd stop at her office for a moment before heading onto his debriefing. Leia needed to get away from here, if only for an old-fashioned wedding trip. He'd find a way to make that happen, to take her somewhere that she could be entirely relaxed, safe to be fully herself, instead of wearing the masks that her roles demand. Somewhere he could help her start to face all of the sorrows she buried deep down. Somewhere she could have a decent meal and have some fun…in all sorts of ways, he grinned to himself. He knew just the place, if only he could get agreement from Mothma to get out of here for a week…and then the agreement he needed from his wife. Whether Leia would admit it, she desperately needed some time away, and he was going to make sure that by hook or by crook, she got it.


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter Four

Han took a skycab to the temporary Alliance government offices in the Chandrilan Embassy, considering how to present his argument to Mon as he looked out the window at the vast cityscape stretching to the horizon. He'd never been to Coruscant before this week; even he wasn't fool enough to smuggle contraband right into the heart of the Empire, no matter how many credits had been at stake. He idly wondered if walking unscheduled into Mon Mothma's office and making demands of her carried even more risk. She'd probably give him the same kind of hell she'd given Leia about going to find him. And if she didn't, Leia – for all her current shakiness – might scratch his eyes out if she heard that he'd issued a demand, instead of politely asking for a favor, on her behalf. _And Leia's probably right,_ Han thought _. The woman took a risk for us yesterday. The least I can do is not be a wiseass in return….unless I have to be to get Leia out of here_.

Han swiped his debitor through the skycab's payment slot and got out, stretching again. That side needed another bactapad. As Han walked toward the guards at the Embassy entrance, they saluted him, making him wonder if along with the bactapad, he needed a shot of Corellian whiskey.

"General," said the older of the two, standing at attention. "We all owe you a debt of gratitude, sir."

Han hesitated. He wasn't comfortable with the trappings that came with his rank and hoped that, should he be assigned a squadron, they wouldn't spend the next year saluting and reminding him of his maneuver in the battle of Coruscant. It may have looked like a brilliant act of self-sacrificing bravery from the outside, and maybe it was, but not for the reasons everybody assumed.

"At ease," Han replied, shaking his head.

He made his way past bowing and scraping people, all of whom were suddenly too obsequious and too willing to direct him to Mon's office. He even had to talk a young Calamarian out of leading the way. _I need to put a stop to this…_

Han looked at his chrono as he arrived at the office. He only had ten minutes to get this done and show up at Madine's door. Unfortunately, the first person who wasn't bowing and scraping was Mon's administrative aide.

"She's on a longtrans with forces on Isithorne," he explained. "I can't disturb her until she's finished talking to their leadership."

"How long d'ya think—"

The door opened; Mon, deep in thought, walked over to her aide and handed him a datapad.

"See to it that Generals Rieekan, Dodonna, and Madine receive—"

She looked up suddenly, realizing that they were not alone.

"General Solo," she said with some surprise. "I would not have expected to see you here today."

Han nodded. "I have a debrief with Madine. Can I talk to you for a minute?"

She motioned him toward her office, noting that he seemed on edge.

"No interruptions, please," she said quietly to her aide as she followed Han into her office and shut the door.

"I need to ask you for a favor," Han began, a bit awkwardly. He realized suddenly how much he hated asking for favors. He was already in her debt, and here he was going further in.

"Yes?" Mon raised an eyebrow.

"It's about Leia…it's for Leia, really."

Mon nodded, encouraging him to go on. The questions Leia had asked her in the medcenter on Coruscant, when they all thought Solo had been lost, were not questions Mon had expected. Something had happened to Leia, either on Endor or on Coruscant, that had shaken the Princess deeply. She had a suspicion that Rieekan may know more than he had told her, but it remained only a suspicion, as Rieekan insisted that he knew nothing.

"May I ask if something happened on Endor about which I'm not aware, General?"

Han looked at Mon appraisingly. _Observant woman…_

"Yes," he said. "Not related to our mission or to me, though. So it's not my story to tell."

"Jedi Skywalker has informed me that the Princess is Force-sensitive."

Han remained impassive, but Mon didn't miss the slightly pained look that momentarily crossed Solo's face.

"Also not why I'm here," Han said, a sharp edge to his voice.

She had been sniffing for information, so she knew she probably deserved the brusque reply. Still, she wasn't sure if Han's silence annoyed her or made her proud of his unwillingness to divulge his wife's secrets.

"Tell me what you want, General."

"Leia's hurt," Han said quickly. "She's…she's tryin' to deal with everything that's happened to her in the last few years, and she's still not a hundred percent after that fight with Essag. She's…" he hesitated for a moment, unsure if even uttering these words were some kind of disloyalty to his wife, "she's fragile right now, and she's in no condition to be dealing with a bunch of people who are looking for something from her. I want to take her away for a week. I want to give her time and space to breathe."

Han finished, his challenging look to Mon daring her to deny his request while his mind raced to come up with another card to play should she shoot him down. Mon, meanwhile, turned back towards her desk so that Solo could not see the slight twitch of her lips as she tried not to smile at his readiness for confrontation. She supposed she had given him every reason to believe she would be a major stumbling block in his life. She _had_ intended to be a major stumbling block in his life, but not anymore.

"I'm not sure you're aware, General—" she began importantly.

"I'm plenty aware of what Leia needs—"

"—that the traditional Alderaanian wedding trip is at least two weeks in length," she finished, pleased to see Solo looking entirely confounded. "So I'd advise you took two weeks. I'll inform the High Command that you are both granted two weeks combined medical and personal leave."

"Yeah, okay," Han said, still flummoxed. "Uh, thanks…"

"I agree that the Princess needs time to heal. From the way you're supporting your left side, so do you, General."

"Maybe a little," Han acknowledged.

"Maybe more than a little," Mon looked at him reproachfully. He shrugged, unwilling to let her know how much it hurt. She might send him to a bactatank even quicker than Leia would, and with Mon, it would be an order.

"I guess now I just have to convince my wife that the galaxy won't fall any further apart if she goes away for two weeks," Han said. "She's on her way over here, y'know. She said you had something for her."

"Yes." Just as Han did not reveal any of Leia's secrets, nor would Mon, because the "something" that Mon held had been entrusted to her by Bail and Breha Organa over three years ago. She was quite certain Leia would share whatever it held with her husband, but that was Leia's choice to make. "I will make sure Leia agrees to two weeks' leave, no matter how much she argues against it."

"Thank you, Senator," Han said earnestly as he turned to leave.

"Senator," Mon mused. "There's a title I'd like to have again."

"Wait," Han turned back. "I just wanted to say…" _Kest, this was difficult._ "I know I'm not what you wanted for Leia. But I'm never gonna give you reason to regret what you did yesterday."

"General," Mon said quietly. "I am willing to take responsibility when I am wrong. And where you are concerned, I was wrong. And wrong to say things that I said to Leia."

Han shrugged. "You weren't all wrong. I know I'm the luckiest bastard in the galaxy, and we both know she could have done better than me."

"I find that an odd statement coming from a man willing to sacrifice his life for Coru—"

Han raised a hand to stop her. "Please. Don't do that. Everyone wants to make me some big hero. I didn't do it for five billion people. I did it for one."

Mon studied the General. There was something elementally decent about Solo, no matter how hard he had tried to hide it under the façade of bravado. His plainspoken honesty was refreshing. "Most people wouldn't even do that for one. And certainly none of the nobles who used to jockey for the prestige of her hand would have considered it for a moment. Which proves all the more that she could not have 'done better,' as you say. "

"Thanks," Han said again, aware that he'd offered his awkward thanks much more than was sane in the last few minutes.

"Besides," said Mon, "if you were ever to consider giving me reason to have regrets, you would do well to remember that I have an army."

Han opened his mouth to retort, and he saw Mon smiling. Smiling? Mon Mothma? He shook his head and laughed; there really was a human being in there. Maybe she just needed the chance to show it.

Just as Mon began to laugh as well, the door to her office opened and Leia hurried in.

"I heard Han's voice. What's—"

Leia looked from her husband to Mon, seeing that both were smiling conspiratorially. That didn't seem quite right. Actually, that seemed entirely unlikely and plain wrong. _Maybe_ , Leia thought, _my mind really has broken…_

Mon quickly recovered her composure.

"General Solo has requested a leave of two weeks for both of you. As you were both seriously injured in battle, I have agreed to that request, and I believe that you should depart as soon as General Solo has completed his debrief." Mon added the suggestion that they leave quickly as she realized that their immediate departure would be very useful to her in ridding the planet of the Trequali ship and perhaps warn off anyone else planning to come calling.

Leia looked hesitantly from Mon to her husband. She ached to take two weeks away – she could feel her heart speed up at the idea of a true wedding trip with Han – but duty still called. So much needed her attention. And she needed to tell Mon everything…but a wedding trip. A chance to be alone somewhere romantic and peaceful with Han and to do the healing that she knew both she and Han needed…and to do other things too.

"I would love that," she smiled at her husband. "And I agree that it's much needed. Thank you, Mon." She took Han's hand; this, of course, had all been his doing. "Thank you."

He kissed her forehead. "Since neither of us has anything to pack—"

"We don't have a ship, either," Leia realized.

"I'll have Carlist assign one," Mon replied. "Be at the landing platform at eleven hundred."

Han turned his back to Mon, giving Leia a serious look.

"I didn't tell her anything," he whispered.

"I know. I'll see you at the platform."

With that, Han squeezed her hand one last time and left for the debrief. Leia looked up to see Mon studying her with concern.

"You said you had something for me?" Leia asked quietly.

"Yes." Mon opened the drawer of her desk and produced a small safetylock droid. She entered a complicated code and allowed it to complete an eyescan. Confirming her identity, the droid popped open, revealing a small holocube. "Your father gave this to me when rumors began spreading that Palpatine was to dissolve the Senate. He instructed me to give this to you at the end of the war should he and Queen Breha not survive. I believe that the time is now appropriate to give this to you.

Leia took the holocube from Mon's outstretched hand. "I think I already know what they wanted to tell me."

Mon saw that the face of her young protégé was contorted with sadness. She'd never seen Leia in this state. Solo was right – she was dangerously fragile.

"Leia, what is it?" Mon breathed.

Leia shook her head. "There's something I've learned that I need to tell you, Mon, and it's not at all good." She wavered, considering unburdening herself of her secret, but she held back. She needed time for thought and reflection, and she needed Luke to be present when she spoke to Mon. It wasn't only her future at stake, it was Luke's future – perhaps even more than her own. Leia had Han, and Han wouldn't hesitate to make a life with her far removed from any seats of power. Luke, though – he only had a vocation that, combined with their secret, could turn the galaxy against him. "But I have to ask your patience while I take these two weeks to find my way forward again."

Mon felt a momentary chill. Leia was not given to unnecessary drama. Whatever secret she held had some tremendous significance to her.

"Then I must ask you only one question before you go," Mon said seriously. "Will this information you've learned harm our ability to restore the Republic?"

Leia smiled sadly. "No. But it may preclude me from being part of that restoration."

Mon frowned. She couldn't imagine what the poor girl had learned, but she doubted it could be so dire that Leia needed to consider her own future in the Republic in jeopardy. "Then I have simple instructions for you, Princess. Go. Be with your husband. Take care of him, and let him take care of you right now as he so obviously wants to. We'll talk when you return, and perhaps by then whatever it is will have lost some of its power to hurt you so deeply."


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter Five

As Leia exited Mon's office, she felt a wave of relief wash over her. Two weeks away felt like an unexpected gift from the mythical gods of leisure. She would do a lot of thinking over those weeks, and, as she felt the holocube in her hand, she knew she would not be able to avoid some mourning as well. But she smiled at the idea of two weeks alone with Han, and then blushed red as she thought about some of the things she imagined doing with him. She also wondered if Han had a particular destination in mind. Not that she really cared where they went, but Han obviously had a whole plan up his sleeve. Hopefully, he'd at least chosen somewhere safe.

"Hey you," she looked up to see her brother approaching, a smile on his face. "What brings you here this early?"

"I could ask you the same."

"Mon had something for me." She opened her hand, realizing for the first time just how tightly she'd been clutching the holocube. "My parents wanted me to have this if they didn't survive the war."

Luke looked at Leia, intrigued. He'd tossed and turned last night, restless as soon as his head hit the pillow. It had been the first night he'd had uninterrupted time to think since the showdown with Essag; he couldn't get thoughts of the massacre Essag claimed Vader committed at the Jedi Temple out of his head and he was worried about what more he may find in the Imperial Records.

"Do you want me to watch it with you?"

She shook her head. "Forgive me, Luke," she said quietly, "but I'm not entirely sure how I'll react to seeing my parents, or hearing whatever it is they say, so I'd like to watch it with Han. If there's any new or valuable information on it, I'll send it to you through the holonet…you do have an encrypted holocode, yes? We can finally use them again."

"Encrypted holocode," Luke snorted. "You think we had holocode access on moisture farms?"

"Point taken." Leia sat down on a windowsill and patted the area next to her to indicate that Luke should sit as well. "I'll send it to Rieekan and ask him to give you a code and forward this to you. It's not like Carlist doesn't know what's going on."

The twins fell silent for a moment, lost in their own thoughts.

"So, if you're talking about sending me transmissions, I guess Han managed to talk you into a wedding trip?" Luke said after a moment, smiling.

She smiled. "He didn't need to…Mon ordered it. We'll be gone for two weeks…hopefully we're going somewhere safer than Bespin."

"Well, if not, you know how to reach me," Luke said, tapping on his head.

She wrinkled her nose. "Kind of, I guess. But I need to learn much more about how to use the Force.

Luke nodded, glad to hear that her continuing insistence on being trained. But it was more than that. "Good. I need you to be in this with me, Leia."

"I need you too," she squeezed his hand. "And we both have a lot of decisions to make when I get back."

"Yes," he agreed.

"But for now," she said quietly. "We all need to think and to rest for a while. That includes you, Luke. You haven't seen anyone since Palpatine nearly took you out with that Force lightning you described…"

"Is this another way to try to talk me into seeing Adria?"

She laughed. "Actually, I'm ashamed I didn't think of that myself. I was just referring to getting yourself checked out by a medic sooner rather than later."

"I'll go later today," he promised. "But they've given me access to the Imperial Palace in order to review the Imperial Records and seek out the Jedi Archives as long as Rieekan accompanies me."

"You'll send me anything you find?"

He hesitated infinitesimally, then cursed himself as Leia's eyebrows flew together in a scowl.

"You'll send me anything you find," Leia repeated, her voice assuming the tone of giving an order.

"Are you trying a Jedi mind trick on me?" Luke tried to distract her with a joke, which he knew would be futile.

Leia simply raised an eyebrow. _They BOTH can be nerfherders…_

"Yes, Leia," Luke promised, hoping that he discovered the Jedi Archives but little on Vader's activities during his twenty-one years of fealty to the Sith and the Empire. More instances of Vader unleashed were the last thing he needed; Luke's ruminations on the massacre had unsettled him. He had been so quick to forgive Anakin, and then to insist that Leia do so as well. He wasn't sure he could continue to hold onto that forgiveness should he discover evidence of innumerable atrocities. Nor was he entirely sure he should. Maybe Leia had been right all along, and he had dragged her down the wrong road.

"This looks dangerously like a committee meeting—" Han called out as he walked toward them. "Aren't you supposed to be on leave, Princess?"

"We are NOT a committee," Leia murmured as Han wrapped his arms around her, resting his head on hers. "More like a conspiracy."

"Now THAT I could get behind," Han grinned. "You okay, kid? I hear some woman beat your Jedi robes pretty soundly at sabacc last night…"

"Lies, all lies," Luke replied. "I don't wear Jedi robes."

"Adria?" Leia immediately perked up.

"Yes, the same Adria who may have overheard us talking about our…" Luke looked around and saw that the coast wasn't totally clear, "…genetic bonds in the medcenter. I tried to dissuade her, but she may be suspicious."

"She's obligated to confidentiality," Leia said by rote, but she frowned nonetheless. She didn't want rumors of anything getting out before she and Luke decided, together, the way forward. She knew Carlist would guard their secret with his life, but others…that was the problem with secrets. Secrets never stayed forever hidden, and the longer you tried to hide them, the more collateral damage the inevitable revelation caused. They would need to deal with this swiftly when Leia returned. Hopefully, by then both she and Luke would have the information and confidence they needed to make the wisest decisions they could.

"Couldn't you, you know, just—" Han arced his hand at Luke, in a barely passable imitation of a Jedi mind wipe.

"Shoo away a respgnat?" Luke teased.

Han was about to make a stinging retort, but the metal clop-clop of a familiar protocol droid's feet accompanied by the familiar whirring of an Artoo unit's hoverwheels quickly silenced him. He didn't mind R2, he was a clever little garbage can, but, _oh gods,_ Threepio. _Kest, Leia is NOT going to bring him on our wedding trip…she's not going to want him to live with us, is she?_ Han turned to Leia with such a distraught look on his face that she almost laughed.

"Mistress Leia!" Threepio called. "I have heard a rumor that you were married to General Solo last night. I've informed the rumormongers that it couldn't be so for numerous reasons, including that I was not present at any such ceremony."

Han frowned. Come to think of it, he couldn't recall Threepio's presence at their wedding at all. Maybe he'd been too focused on Leia – and too tired – to notice. Or maybe it really had been a perfect night.

"You can't use Jedi mind tricks on a droid," Luke mumbled under his breath to Leia as Han snorted with laughter.

"Threepio, don't you recall? You both were in the meditation room on the _Freedom_ late in the afternoon cycle yesterday at our marriage ceremony."

Threepio looked from his Mistress, to Artoo, and then back at his Mistress.

"I recall being in the meditation room, but I cannot recall the ceremony. Oh dear, oh dear, my memory chips must have been damaged in the last battle."

"Artoo, why don't you take Threepio back to the fleet so you both can get oil baths and tune-ups as needed?" Leia suggested gently.

Artoo whooped happily and whizzed away down the corridor, chirping for a very confused Threepio to follow him.

"Well, I offer you my congratulations, then, Mistress Leia-"

"Thank you, Threepio." She could feel her husband and her brother trying to stifle laughter behind her. "You'd better hurry after Artoo." She nodded in the direction of Artoo, halfway to the exit, who was now beeping with annoyance at his counterpart.

"Although," Threepio added thoughtfully, "I cannot help but wonder if General Solo is truly adequate for a woman of your noble–"

"Hey, watch it, Goldenrod!" Han snarled.

"Threepio! Go! Now!" Leia commanded simultaneously.

Threepio turned and clunk-clunked down the hallway after a chattering Artoo.

"I am NOT getting old, you overweight footstool!" Threepio exclaimed, following Artoo out of sight.

"He wasn't there yesterday, was he?" Han queried.

"I asked Carlist to take him into the galley and shut him down for a few hours. My wedding present to you."

"I love you."

"I know."

"On that note," Luke chimed in, "I'd better go meet Rieekan and head over to the Palace."

Leia embraced her brother. "Whatever you find – may the Force be with you."

"You too," he said as he reached out and put a hand on Han's shoulder. "Both of you. Have a wonderful time."

Leia became serious. "We'll figure everything out when I get back." She kissed him on the cheek and then turned with Han and headed down the hallway.

As Luke walked in the other direction toward Rieekan's office, he laughed out loud upon hearing Han gingerly addressing his wife.

"So, sweetheart," Han had said tentatively. "when we get back…Threepio isn't going to…you know, live with us or something, right?"


	6. Chapter 6

Chapter Six

Han and Leia walked hand-in-hand onto the landing strip serving as a skycab stop outside the Chandrilan Embassy, Han feeling vastly relieved that Leia had promised him Threepio would not be making his home with them.

"Still feel unsettled here?" he asked as Leia scanned the horizon.

"Unsettled is a good word for it," she agreed. She still felt the cold hand of evil hanging over Coruscant; she probably always would. It was the imprint her fallen father had left on this place.

Han wrapped an arm around Leia as they got into the arriving skycab. She willingly leaned into his embrace, surprised at how much the morning had sapped her already low stores of energy.

"Tell me where we're going," she whispered.

"Nope," he grinned. "It's a secret."

"Then tell me ABOUT where we're going," she smiled, inhaling the scent of his aftershave; somehow Chewie managed to rescue some of their toiletries from the Falcon. She'd always loved the clean, masculine scent of the Corellian brand he used. Even back in the days when she generally wanted to slap him, the scent of his aftershave had an entirely too intoxicating effect.

"Somewhere you won't need to wear your wedding dress everyday," he said as he touched her gossamer sleeve.

"It's all I have."

"Not gonna need clothes," he grinned wickedly.

"We're going to Stalactis?" she parried.

Han laughed. Stalactis had long been famed for the state of dishabille favored by its inhabitants. He'd been there, once, with Shriike's crew when he was in his late teens. It had been…an experience. One he wouldn't hide from his wife, but definitely not the conversation to have now.

"Not Stalactis. I'll tell you about my teenage misadventures on Stalactis someday, but let's just say that sitting bare-assed on public transport, knowing that a thousand bare asses have sat there before you, ain't all it's …uh…cracked up to be, to coin a phrase."

Leia guffawed. He had a point about nudity on public transport. She was curious to hear about his adventures on Stalactis, but more curious as to the location of their wedding trip.

"Then we're going somewhere warm?"

"Do you think I, of all people, would ever choose somewhere cold? And yes, we'll stop at a satellite mall on the way. You may need swimgear if you're still feeling modest. Although a week with me should cure you of that."

"So there's a beach?" She liked the sound of that, beaches and swimgear being somewhat foreign to the life of an Alderaanian princess.

"Yes. And now I've told you all I'm tellin." He nuzzled his lips against her hair as the skycab sped toward the landing platform. He loved that hair. Even when they were in the middle of their worst arguments, a part of his brain had been occupied with the idea of what it would feel like to sleep with that t'lil blossom scented hair fanning out across his chest. Now he knew. And he loved it even more than he imagined he wou—

"Hey!" Han exclaimed as he stroked her loose tresses. "You're wearing it down in public!"

She smiled up at him. "Not an Alderaanian maiden anymore. Tradition says now I can do whatever I want with my hair."

Han frowned. "That's kinda like…advertising."

"You object?" she raised an eyebrow. "You've turned prude and object to everyone knowing that I have 'given you the most precious gift of myself,'" she completed, mimicking the plummy tones of her childhood tutor.

"Hell no, just thinking you could have worn it down last week."

"THAT," she said, "would have been advertising."

"Ohhh. Who's turning prude now?" Han returned. He had her there. "But you wore it down on Endor. First time I'd ever seen it that way. Good thing I was hanging from a spit at the time or my knees might have given out."

She laughed. Han hadn't said anything about her hair on Endor, but she'd noticed that even in her desolation that night in the Ewok village, Han had stroked her hair as he'd held her, and it felt wonderful. She didn't think she'd ever tire of the slight shiver of pleasure that ran down her spine at the feeling of his hands in her hair.

"The Ewoks were a little alarmed by the braids," she said. "I think they were afraid that they were living creatures. So I chose impropriety over impaling."

"Good call." Han thought for a moment. "That was only ten days ago. It feels like a year."

It did feel like a year, Leia reflected as she watched Han gazing out over the city. She felt him shiver slightly. "Only eleven more weeks…"

"Huh?"

"Until you should be completely over the carbonite poisoning. Maybe sooner, if you get some rest and relaxation on this mysterious wedding trip."

"Not mysterious. Just a surprise." He thanked his lucky stars that at the moment, he could still blame that shiver on the carbonite. The real cause of the shiver was the sudden thought that they wouldn't be joking – at all – about whether it was appropriate for Leia to wear her hair down if they'd been trapped in Jabba's Palace one more night. It made him sick to his stomach and filled him with shame that she'd been stripped, humiliated, and dressed as a slave in front of Jabba's henchmen on that first night. Had there been a second, Jabba no doubt would have pimped her or gifted her for the night to one of the scum who hung out in his palace. It was one of the many reasons Han chose to hang out in the dives of Mos Eisley rather than Jabba's Palace when he was on Tatooine. With regret, he thought about how he should have done more for some of those women, instead of relying on the "out of sight, out of mind" strategy. He shivered again.

"Hey, you okay?" Leia rubbed his arms to warm him up, thinking that he was going through another bout of thermal dysregulation.

"I'm okay," he said, taking her face in his hands and kissing her gently. "I was just thinkin' that I'm very glad you and Luke destroyed the sail barge and killed that Hutt bastard."

"Some people think we went too far," Leia noted, seeing the landing platform in the distance. "They think we committed a…," she swallowed hard, suddenly connecting these words to Essag's story of the Jedi children. "They think we committed a massacre."

"No," Han said firmly. "No, it wasn't a massacre. There was no one innocent in that barge."

"There were probably slave girls hidden away somewhere."

"No," Han shook his head again. "He wouldn't have brought them on the sail barge. That honor was reserved to his best buddies. There wasn't a creature in that place that hadn't tortured an innocent being just for kicks. That much I'm damn sure of. If there were slave girls he'd imprisoned for later torture, they would have been at the Palace. And from what I heard, the Palace was deserted when smugglers and scavengers showed up to help themselves to leftovers. So I'm just glad that the sonofabitch and his cronies are gone."

He kissed Leia again, more deeply this time, as Leia wondered what had prompted that dark turn of Han's thoughts. Whatever it was, it told her that he too was struggling with a few demons. He needed this time away to rest and to heal as much as she did.

"Han," she said softly, "I know you talked Mon into this wedding trip for me – so I could try to find a way forward. But I promise that you aren't going to spend every second of the next two weeks propping up your weeping wife. There will be moments, I'm sure –" she held up the holocube, "—not the least of which will be when I watch this holocube of my parents, which I don't want to do without you by my side, but I also intend to spend the next two weeks celebrating our marriage and thrilled that I'm alone with you. Because I am more overjoyed that you are my husband than you could possibly know."

Han felt the glow of her words warming him as he twirled a strand of her hair around his finger. He didn't even notice the skycab come to a halt at the platform. "I want you to be free to feel whatever you're feeling whenever you're feeling it for the next few weeks. 'Cause you may be a Princess, but when it comes to compartmentalization, you're a Queen."

She opened her mouth to retort, then hesitated. "You're right. I am."

"So just promise that you won't push off any of the pain you're going through just 'cause we're on a wedding trip. The longer you push it away, the more it's just going to keep trying to break you."

His words unexpectedly touched her. She felt her eyes fill up as she kissed him. "One condition," she said, "that goes both ways. Promise me you won't try to hide your struggles from me either."

It was Han's turn to hesitate. He'd never shared his struggles with anyone before. No one had ever really cared to hear about them, so he'd gotten into the habit of keeping them to himself. Truth be told, there were a few things he was struggling with. He probably did need to talk to her about those feelings, not that it would be easy to put his feelings into words – to her or to anyone. But he'd try.

"Deal, sweetheart," he said.

"Deal—"

Leia's words were cut off by a stream of angry invective from the skycab droid, insisting they get a room instead of wasting time in his cab.

"Oh pipe down and take my money, you hunk of junk," Han replied as he swiped his debitor so forcefully that the droid emitted a surprised squeak.


	7. Chapter 7

Chapter Seven

A familiar roar greeted the couple as they exited the skycab and crossed the platform. A very excited Chewie was trotting toward them, his fur ruffling in the breeze.

"Don't worry, he's not coming on our wedding trip," said Han, "but I thought we should drop him off on Kashyyk so he can spend some time with his family, ok?"

"Kashyyk is on the way?" Leia asked innocently.

"Nice try. No more hints. But Chewie says Kashyyk does have a great treetop guesthouse built for humanoids that he's reserved for us tonight," Han said, his hand traveling from her waist to her rear-end, "which sounds pretty good to me."

"More than pretty good, if it means I get to watch you swing from a vine naked," Leia returned.

"I always knew you were a little kinky." Han stopped in his tracks as Chewie pointed excitedly at a ship on the platform. His eyes grew wide. "That one?"

Chewie chortled. Leia's gaze followed Han's to the object of his amazement. Sitting on the platform was one of the few luxury yachts the Alliance had 'acquired' to spy on a mid-Rim syndicate of oligarchs that had made common cause with the Empire. The yachts were some of the sleekest and most expensive ships in the galaxy, if one actually bought one with credits, which the Alliance, naturally, had not.

"A Kanata-29," Han whispered adoringly. "Rieekan lent us a Kanata-29."

Amused, Leia leaned towards Han. "Hey, do I suddenly have competition for your affections?"

"Yeah," Han said, still staring at the ship. "Carlist Rieekan."

She laughed out loud, prompting curious looks from the Alliance troops patrolling the platforms; many of them had never seen the Princess so much as crack a smile, never mind laugh heartily. Han hurried toward the ship with Chewie, eager to get a look at it and to start the pre-flight checks. Leia, seeing his boyish excitement at the fancy new toy, momentarily thought about the Falcon, wrecked on the Palace Landing Platform. This ship may have Han's momentary curiosity, but the Falcon would always have his heart…and hers too, she thought, as she silently blessed that old junker yet again. She reminded herself that they'd have to get started on repairs when she returned, assuming that they weren't running for their lives from angry Rebels looking for revenge on Vader's children.

She sighed and headed for the gangway, stopping as she saw another luxury shuttle landing several clicks away. _Huh…most be 'begging the Alliance for forgiveness day' among Imperial sympathizer worlds_ … If she wasn't mistaken, the landing ship bore the insignia of Trequalit-2, a gem and mineral-rich world located in the outer Core. Long ago, the Trequali had a falling out with her father, and they'd later proven Bail's instincts right by becoming significant funders of the Imperial Treasury closely allied to Grand Minister of the Treasury, Cadaro Pault. Thankfully, they were no longer her problem.

As she climbed the gangway and entered the main hold of the Kanata, Leia heard Han, Chewie and Lando talking like two over-excited little boys…and one joyous Wookiee. They were somewhere in the back, giddy over the array of hyperdrive motivators that gave the small ship the ability to travel nearly point-one past lightspeed. Leia had no intention of joining them to hear about the genius of the harmonic colliders and the hadon reflector, whatever those may be. She'd let the boys be boys for a while, because that white liniten relaxation chair with a back massager droid powered down next to it was calling her name. She lay down, powered up the droid, and promptly fell asleep.

HHHHHHHHHH

Chewie tried to quietly instruct Han and Lando to keep their voices down as they entered the main hold. Unfortunately, Chewie's version of quiet was quite a few decibels above human quiet, so Leia jumped up, alarmed, and knocked over the massager droid just as Han and Lando walked in.

"What is it?" Han asked, seeing her confused look.

"I must have fallen asleep. That relaxation chair is pretty amazing."

Sorry to wake you, Princess Chewie growled.

Leia waved it off.

"Keeping it down isn't one of your best attributes, pal," Han noted.

Nor yours Chewie replied, guffawing at his own double entendre, as he headed off to the cockpit. Come on, let's get out of here.

Lando turned to Han and saw him gently kiss Leia's forehead. He remembered how he momentarily thought he might make a play for the Princess himself on Bespin. It hadn't taken him very long, though, to realize that despite the bickering that still characterized their relationship then, they were utterly in love with each other, no matter if they were willing to acknowledge it or not. _Bespin…_ he thought. _I still have unfinished business._

"I think Chewie's right, you too," Lando said, smiling. "Get going before Mon and Madine see what Rieekan hooked you up with and try to take it back."

Leia moved forward to kiss Lando on the cheek. "We'll see you on our return."

"Maybe," Lando replied. "I want to do some reconnaissance on Bespin. The remnants of the Empire are NOT going to hold onto it." He'd fretted over the fate of the people of Bespin repeatedly over the months since the Empire had taken control of the city and, during the battle over Coruscant, he'd promised himself that, should he survive that battle, that he'd return to free Bespin. Word on the grapevine said that although the detachment controlling Cloud City wasn't very large, it made up for its size by brutal treatment of those citizens who had not managed to obey Lando's order to flee. Lando knew that he'd been at fault for the city's fall, and, if it was the last thing he did, he intended to put it right.

Han shook his head, his exasperation clear. "Don't go running off half-cocked. Wait until I get back; we can talk Madine into making that an early liberation mission—"

Leia looked at Han sharply. She didn't want to discourage him from helping Lando, but she'd heard enough of Han's post-carbonite night terrors to think that his return to Cloud City right now seemed like a less-than-brilliant idea, unless Han promised he'd blow the carbon-freezing chamber sky-high while there. Maybe that would put some of the night terrors to rest.

"Just reconnaissance, buddy," Lando promised as he walked down the gangway and engaged its locking mechanism. He gave a little wave as the ramp closed. "Enjoy, you two."

"He's gonna do somethin' stupid," Han muttered. "I can tell."

"I let Luke know to keep an eye on him," Leia said while following Han into the cockpit.

Han turned back to Leia quizzically. She tapped her head, just has Luke had done earlier.

"Oh, yeah, right, the creepy stuff," he smiled as he sat in the captain's seat and flipped a few buttons. Then something out the corner of his eye caught his attention. Mon Mothma and Carlist Rieekan were crossing the tarmac toward a large and ornately-attired delegation disembarking from a tricked-out Trequali shuttle that put the Kanata to shame.

"What's that all about?" Han asked, turning to Leia. She stood stock-still behind him watching the procession. "Leia?"

"Thank the Force for Carlist and Mon," she whispered.

"Huh?"

"I suddenly think that may be about me," Leia shook her head. "Years ago, the Trequali tried to strike a bargain with my father – over me. He summarily dismissed them. It looks as if they wasted no time trying again now that the war is over and my father is conveniently out of the picture." She looked out the viewport at them with disgust. "The noble scavengers have begun to arrive."

"So Mon wanted us out of here before they did?"

Leia shook her head. "When I thought I'd lost you, I asked her – no, I begged her – to keep the noble scavengers away. She promised she would. And I'm fairly certain she's out there keeping her promise. I suppose easier to say "she's married," than to say, "she's in mourning" in any event.

"But these people – they'll leave you alone now, right?"

Leia nodded. Most of them would. And once news of Vader got out, she'd likely be completely free of the scavengers. _Small favors…_

"Remember, what I said, Han?" Her fingers brushed against his neck. "They think I'm ruined."

Han shifted in his seat as a handsome, young, very blonde man in ceremonial attire bowed before Mon. Leia laughed softly and put her arms around her husband.

"Besides," she said, whispering to him seductively, "I've got a thing for older men. Older, dark-haired, Corellian men who are reformed scoundrels, but not so reformed that they don't make my heart beat faster with excitement whenever they walk into a room, because I'm never entirely sure what they'll do."

"Reformed?" Han said. "So you're saying that I can't go out there and shoot him dead?"

She kissed his neck. Good thing Chewie was in the back warming up the hyperdrive or he'd be complaining about the public display of affection. "There's no need."

"I hate that 'ruined' thing, Leia. I really do. I hate that anyone can think that I 'ruin' you."

"I don't care what they think."

Han looked out at the younger, richer, titled man standing across the tarmac. He could see that the attaché to His Royalness was starting to look perturbed. Actually, royally pissed off was more like it. Han took a lot of satisfaction in that. He silently thanked Mon Mothma for about the sixth time today, but he couldn't help but feel a little – okay, a lot – insecure all of a sudden. He quickly ran a scan of the Trequali shuttle and found that it was filled with their two most precious gems: fantubis and pellegrite.

"I'll never be able to give you the things he can," Han said softly.

"No, you can't," Leia agreed, coming around from the navigator's seat to sit on Han's lap. She didn't need to use the Force to know that her husband was feeling insecure at the moment. She wished she could use the Force to let him see inside her mind and her heart so he could know that that there would never be a need for him to feel that way. "But he can never give me what I want for the rest of my days: to be with you. So the way I see it, I'm not ruined. I traded up. Way, way up."

Her lips found his and she gently kissed him. He closed his eyes and gave himself over to the warmth of her lips and the depth of his feeling for her. It didn't quite stop him from wishing that he had a pile of fantubis somewhere to give her.

She's warmed Chewie growled, entering the cockpit.

"Yes, she is," said Leia, laughing, to Han as she got off his lap. He caught her hand as she turned away to buckle herself into the navigator's seat.

"Leia," he replied quietly, "thank you for that."

She smiled and kissed his temple, knowing that if she didn't soon break the mood, he'd start to feel awkward about his open insecurity.

"Don't get too used to it, flyboy," she teased. I'm not always this nice. Now let's get out of here."

"Right," he said. "Chewie, let's give this fancy can a work out."

He revved the thrusters for lift-off, blasting the Trequali delegation with a little more thruster-dust than was strictly necessary, but he was pretty sure neither Rieekan nor Mothma would mind.


	8. Chapter 8

Chapter Eight

 **Sorry - not a Han/Leia chapter this week - I have to get into gear on the B and C stories here. But next chapter is a really good Han/Leia one, I promise :)!**

"You allowed the Princess cheapen herself by a lifebond with that Corellian scum who was rumored to have kidnapped her from Hoth?"

Mon sighed. Speaking of scum, she wanted the Imperial-allied scum standing before her to be on their way as soon as possible. Rieekan nearly kicked the diplomat, pompous little snatu that he was, for being so disrespectful to both Leia and Han.

"Unlike Trequali slavers – yes, we're well aware of your involvement in the Mateirisu slave ring – the Alliance believes in allowing people to live freely. But I should assure you that her marriage is supported by the full weight of the Alliance leadership and, as her husband is a General in the Alliance, our military as well," Mon said, a touch of threat in her voice.

"We had a binding arrangement," the diplomat spat.

"I will not tolerate blatant lies from you, Ambassador Tiqyi," Mon flared. "Bail Organa was one of my closest allies and confidants. With all due respect, Your Highness," she glared straight through the fuming ambassador to Crown Prince Tare, who remained impassive, "I am very aware of the circumstances of your approach to Viceroy Organa. I am also aware – as is Leia – that you were turned away before an offer was made, as he found the idea of a marriage of his daughter to a Trequali repugnant."

The diplomat opened his mouth to protest, but the normally cold and impassive Mon found herself furious and on a roll. She would not stop until she had said her piece.

"—and the Trequali soon proved him right in spades by aligning with the Empire. Ambassador Tiqyi, you are fortunate that you were permitted to land instead of being blown out of the sky as a hostile. Now I am telling you to depart immediately and take your disgraceful demands with you."

Mon felt herself suddenly pelted with dust as the Kanata-29 several pads away took off, spraying them with what she felt was an unnecessarily large burst of thruster dust. In any other circumstances she would be angered, but seeing Prince Tare attempting to brush gray dust spots off his spotless white jacket gave her immense pleasure. The prince had remained silent throughout, since a Trequali noble would not talk directly to an off-worlder of lower social status without a dire reason. Tare tapped Tiqyi on the shoulder, indicating that they would do as Mothma said. The ambassador bowed, then stalked away, flanked by two guards and followed by the Prince himself and his guard.

Suddenly, the Prince turned. He was not used to being publicly embarrassed. Just as quickly, Rieekan's hand closed on his blaster…just in case.

"I should inform you, Minister Mothma," Tare said blandly, as his visit to Coruscant was occasioned only by his father's bizarre insistence that he covenant with this former Princess from a destroyed world, "this agreement was not entered into by Bail Organa. This agreement was bound here on Coruscant between High Commissioner Wade Ullyris and my father just before the destruction of Alderaan."

Mon tried not to let her surprise show, but Carlist could not control his reaction. He was suddenly shaking with anger. As an Alderaanian, he knew as well as anyone that the High Commissioner had no authority to bind any member of the royal family to anything, but it angered him to his very core that Ullyris – serving as an elected representative of Alderaan to the Imperial government and on the brink of losing a recall election when Palpatine dissolved the Senate – had tried. Bad enough that the slimeball had remained on Coruscant when the Senate was dissolved. Worse, he'd stayed on Coruscant making deals before he too disappeared into the ether, likely skulking around on Coruscant's lower levels as so many former politicos did. Rieekan feared they would all soon make their reappearance.

"Then we are all aware, Your Highness," Mon snapped, sounding a bit too much like her new ally, Han Solo, for her own comfort, "that an agreement made with a representative of a world that no longer exists is without legal force."

"And that no Alderaani may issue a contract or order binding on a member of the royal family without the consent of the Queen," Carlist hissed, feeling a stronger and stronger urge to plug a blaster bolt in this womprat.

"As you say," Tare bowed, "but I am sorry to observe that the Alliance has moved so quickly to dissociate itself from contracts which the Empire would have found binding."

He turned on his heel and strode back to his ship, feeling both aggrieved at his public humiliation and relieved that his duty had been performed yet he still walked away a free man.

Mon turned just as quickly and walked in the other direction, head held high for all on the platform to see. But inside, she was shaken. What kind of vermin had remained on Coruscant to make unconscionable deals under the authority of the Empire during the years of the war? And how much would that vermin obstruct the building of the New Republic? She was not sure she liked the answers to her own question.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Lando studied Madine as the General reviewed his request. He didn't have a good feeling about Madine; he struck Lando as a man too much influenced by his years following the Imperial book. He also didn't like the fact that Madine showed little in the way of emotion. Han seemed to respect him, though. Perhaps that was only due to their shared Corellian roots, or, perhaps, Han felt a little more empathy than he did for a man who had been rising through the Imperial officer ranks before his conscience demanded that he defect. That took a special kind of courage, and likely left Madine with a hefty load of baggage relating to his choices. It was a kind of courage Lando knew that he did not possess, but both Madine and Han did.

"If I agree to this proposal, you agree that this preliminary mission will be for undercover reconnaissance only? No breaking cover…"

Lando nodded. "No breaking cover. I'll be disguised as a Twi'lek spice trader to the Bespin casinos. The scuttlebutt is that they remain operable."

"I'm sure they do," Madine replied. "The Imperials controlling the city will need those funds more now that they can't rely on support from Coruscant."

"It's possible the Imperials will just abandon if—"

"Not this group," Madine interrupted. "If the rumors you hear are correct, this is the 331st Legion. They won't abandon; they'll go down fighting – brutally, if they have to."

"How do you know?"

"I used to be a member," Madine replied quickly, avoiding Lando's eyes. "It's small, but effective."

Madine wasn't entirely sure he trusted Calrissian; he half-expected the man to take off for Bespin whether or not he approved the reconnaissance mission. Even if Madine did approve it, he thought the odds only even that Calrissian returned to Coruscant as ordered. Plus, those early decisions Calrissian had made on Bespin – to turn over Solo and the Princess to the Imperials – still gave Madine pause despite Calrissian's later dogged pursuit of Boba Fett and his willingness to join the Alliance before Endor. Madine was a practical man, and thus he accepted Calrissian's oath, and piloting skills, as useful in battle, but he was also a suspicious man, and perhaps not as forgiving as Solo and the Princess, although he suspected that the Princess might still harbor some conflicted feelings.

"I'll allow it as long as Captain Antilles goes along as your co-pilot and you both report back through encrypted holo daily. Six standard days only. There's a nest of Imps causing trouble in the dustlands of Isithorne and we may need your aerial support there if we don't take out that nest with ground fighters shortly."

"Agreed."

"Then I wish you success, General Calrissian. And may the Force be with you."

Lando stood and walked toward the door, satisfied that this was the best he would get out of Madine. Then he had a thought. Clearly, he needed to have some sort of rapprochement with his superior officer once he got back. He'd probably also need to talk Madine into letting him take a bigger force to Bespin to free the place. Lando turned back to Madine.

"General, do you play sabacc?"

A wry smirk formed on Madine's face. "You ask a Corellian if he knows how to play sabacc? I've beaten Solo at it."

"Good. I'm planning a little tournament for when Han gets back, since he didn't have a hitching party. I'll let you know when."

"Wouldn't miss it," Madine replied, with the hint of a true smile.

With that, Lando left to find Wedge.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

General Rieekan apologized to Luke for his lateness when he finally turned up at his office, but Luke could sense his tension even after they left on foot for the Imperial Palace. Something had angered Rieekan greatly.

"General, are you alright?" Luke queried.

The general sighed. "Can't really keep it from you, can I?"

"I wouldn't intrude on your thoughts, except in a crisis situation," Luke answered. "But I can't really help having heightened senses anymore. That said, I think even a Jawa could tell that you're pretty furious."

Rieekan considered Luke's words. He was probably right, and Rieekan needed to fix that flaw. After years of warfare, when hiding your anger from your troops usually did little good, Carlist had to remember that on Coruscant, a good sabacc face was and always would be necessary.

"Just a dirty deal an Alderaanian politician hiding hereon Coruscant tried to pull during the war. We put the kibosh on it, but it was something he wouldn't have had the right to do even if Alderaan weren't just an asteroid field now."

"Is this about Leia?"

"It's been handled, Luke," Rieekan said shortly. "I'll tell the Princess when she returns and then she can decide if it's even worth sharing further. I'm sorry, but I don't know what more I can say about things that would have been internal Alderaani politics."

As they neared the Palace, Luke felt the darkness increasing. He didn't have nearly as strong a sense of it as did his sister, likely because he hadn't had the misfortune of wallowing in this place at the peak of the Siths' rancid power. The chill of darkness was still omnipresent, especially in and around the Palace.

"General, was there a Jedi massacre in this place?"

"Yes." Rieekan looked apologetic; he didn't relish being the one to confirm Essag's statements. "During the last days of the Republic. Someone, clearly a Force-user, entered the Temple and killed the Jedi younglings – that's what they called their youngest trainees. I don't believe the culprit was ever identified by the Republic or even by rumor. At least not to my knowledge."

"Were you here when it happened?"

Rieekan shook his head. He'd been newly appointed Defense Minister on Alderaan at the time, the first Defense Minister the planet had named in over eight hundred years. The Queen and Viceroy had successfully convinced the Governing Council that dangerous times made the position, which nobody – including Rieekan – had hoped to ever see reinstated, necessary. How right they'd been, although an ambitious young politician named Wade Ullyris, the same Wade Ullyris whose name Rieekan had heard for the first time in years today, had been so successful in blocking plans to build a planetary defense force that Rieekan quickly resigned, nominally to retire from public service. Soon after, with Bail's blessing, he left Alderaan to help build the Alliance to Restore the Republic. Wade Ullyris had then been "promoted", at the Organas command, to an ambassadorial post on Coruscant, where it was believed he would do less damage.

"I was on Alderaan," Rieekan said. "Viceroy Organa told me about it when he returned to Alderaan eight weeks after Palpatine's assumption of the title of Emperor. We all thought that he'd been killed during the fall of Coruscant, as he was so involved in saving the Republic from itself. Queen Breha refused to acknowledge his death until we had confirmation, and eight weeks later he returned. Soon after, they introduced the people of Alderaan to their adopted baby daughter."

Luke took it in, trying to envision the past: the panic of the catastrophic events enveloping the galaxy while, somewhere, twins had been born to a woman – who? – with Bail Organa involved in it all. He hoped that the holocube Leia held would provide more answers.

"He never told you any more about Leia's birth family?"

"No. And it was not my place to ask. Besides," Rieekan shrugged, "those days and all the years that followed created untold numbers of orphans. Some starved. Some were kidnapped into Stormtrooper training. Others – like yourself and Leia – were very lucky. There was no reason to question an unexpected adoption in those days."

Luke chuckled mirthlessly. "I never considered myself lucky on the moisture farm. I complained constantly. I wish I could take all of that back – my aunt and uncle must have known they were risking their lives for me from the moment they took me in. If they were actually my aunt and uncle – I guess I'm not even sure of that anymore."

The two men went silent as they neared the Palace. So many people, both Alliance and curious citizens starting to come out of hiding, filled the square that it was dangerous to continue talking about dangerous truths. A group of young boys climbed a statue of Palpatine that had a celebratory crowd had knocked over several nights before. Another crowd surrounded an Alliance pilot, seeking to shake his hand. Luke, though, felt the chill of the darkness build. He snuggled into his bomber jacket, although he knew all too well that the cold he felt was not at all biological. He hoped that the Alliance would have the good sense, if not to move the New Republic capital from Coruscant, then to tear down this Palace, burn the platform beneath it, and surround the whole area with laserfencing. Luke could at least feel the darkness trying to work on him, so he could protect himself from it, but Luke felt quite sure that the Dark Side tried no less to worm its way into the psyche of those who couldn't sense it. Anyone who stayed here too long would risk its insidious grasp. He wondered momentarily about Sevik; he'd worked here for years and had managed to retain his light. Sevik was definitely a case that warranted more study.

The guards waved Rieekan and Luke through the charged gates of the Palace after an ID scan confirmed their identities.

"General, I'd like to make a suggestion," Luke said.

"Go on, I'm listening.""

"This place – what do you feel here?"

Rieekan shrugged. "Just bad memories from last week."

"This place is very strong in the Dark Side. Possibly from the Jedi massacre, possibly from the Sith. You can't feel it, but it's here, and it's working on all of us. I'd recommend—"

"Short shifts and frequent rotation?"

"Yes. And I'd recommend that any records that can be searched offsite be taken elsewhere for review and analysis. There's really no reason for your troops to remain here longer than is absolutely necessary."

Rieekan surveyed Luke. "Do you have any idea how difficult it will be to convince Mon and Madine of that? To walk into a command meeting and tell them that I'm acting on the advice of Jedi sensitivities?"

"I'm afraid I do," Luke replied dryly.

Rieekan shook his head. He'd try his best to do what Luke recommended despite his own conflicted feelings about Jedi powers. He'd just have to find a plausible reason for what he was doing other than "the Jedi told me so."

They entered the throne room. Rieekan tensed; he didn't care to remember all that had happened in this room so recently. His broken leg still twinged, but it didn't compare to the way his heart still ached at what Essag had put the Princess through – the revelations, the humiliation, the attempt to lure her to the Dark Side – and the battles she still may have yet to fight when she returned from her wedding trip.

"General, Jedi Skywalker." Sevik Dahn, who'd been tasked with slicing into Palpatine's private records, hurried up to them, avoiding the workers who were carefully dismantling the independent command-control functionality they'd discovered in the Throne Room. They'd discovered the hard way on their first day of work that the room had been booby trapped with small, strategically-placed thermal detonators to dissuade anyone from attempting to prevent the Emperor himself from directly commanding the Imperial military.

"Any luck on the Jedi Archives?" Luke asked.

"None," Sevik replied. "We've found no evidence of them at all. But I've found some information that we may want to act upon."

The men looked at Sevik, intrigued.

"Can either of you tell me anything about a location on Kintares that's referred to in Palpatine's records as 'The Sanctuary'? Nine months ago, Palpatine discovered Vader regularly traveled there. He was not happy about it."

Rieekan turned to Luke. Luke only shook his head, mystified. He'd never heard of it. But he would find it.


	9. Chapter 9

Chapter Nine

 **Hi everybody - trying to keep to my promise to myself of posting something every Monday night, but it was a rough week, so this a a short one, just a little "moment." Bigger Han/Leia chapter up next...**

Leia's hair danced in the breeze as Chewie's speeder raced them to their destination. She breathed in the cool, clear air of the Kashyyk night, relishing the thought that the last of the Imperials had been chased off the planet yesterday, and, even more, relishing the thought that she'd soon be alone with her husband in the treehouse suite Chewie had reserved.

Chewie had warned them when they arrived that he and his family believed their wedding celebration had been too small, and the Wookiees intended to correct that problem. They'd thrown a raucous wedding/victory celebration crowded with Wookiee elders and culminating in the traditional Wookiee mating call, which was perhaps the loudest noise Leia had ever heard emanating from a sentient. She'd had to fight the desire to cover her ears as the call rang out through the forest.

She'd watched Han closely throughout the celebration; he had had been so happy to see some Wookiees he'd known for a very long time. They had been equally happy to see him. While Leia knew that Chewie's family was the closest thing to a true family that Han had ever had, she'd wondered if the other Wookiees greeting him so happily – and hugging Han's new mate so bone-crushingly – were among those he had rescued from the Imperials, but there hadn't been time to ask as the Wookiees insisted that the newly-mated couple take part in the raucous dancing… _well_ , Leia corrected herself, _it was more like jumping and stomping to very loud drums_.

Chewie braked the speeder to a halt as they came to a circular staircase winding its way up the wide trunk of an ancient tree. Leia eyed the staircase dubiously – even those things that Wookiees designed for human guests were designed for tall humans, and these steps were no exception. The hike up to the treehouse would be strenuous. Good thing she had not imbibed in too many Kashyyki Turbinos, a surprisingly sweet – and surprisingly potent – drink that adult Wookiees favored. Han couldn't stand the stuff, but Leia had found its fruity sweetness very appealing, although the fact that these powerful creatures whom many found terrifying favored drinks that on other worlds would be garnished with a flower or a paper umbrella made her giggle.

"You ready to climb, Princess?" Han offered his hand to help her out of the speeder, which hovered a hundred feet in the air next to the first step of the spiral stairs.

"I thought you would offer to carry me," Leia teased.

"Nah," Han grinned back. "We've been married for a day. Gentleman time is over."

**You could always use the vine system** Chewie growled. **Take the vine on your left to that platform** he pointed, **and then the vine on that platform will land you right outside the treehouse.**

Han looked a little too intrigued by the idea for Leia's comfort. She had experienced the stomach-churning feeling of flying free on a rope across nothingness below once, on the Death Star, and she was sure she didn't want to repeat it for fun.

**It has a harness** Chewie said. **You will not fall.**

Han wondered how he was going to get his wife on that vine, because he was too curious not to try it. It sounded like a whole lot of fun to him. He turned to Leia, ready to cajole her.

"No," she replied before a word was out of his mouth.

**I will leave you here to argue. Have a good night.**

"You too, Chewie," Leia replied warmly. "And thank you."

"Yeah, thanks, pal," Han seconded.

With a wave, Chewie floored the pedals and sped away.

Leia raised an eyebrow at Han, who had one hand on the vine. She knew he expected to convince her to ride the vine by turning smart aleck and arousing her ire. She had an entirely different plan.

"Race you," she said, taking off at speed up the giant steps, holding her skirt up to avoid an ugly fall. At least the Wookiees believed in stair railing, unlike some of the less intelligent beings of the galaxy like, say, Imperials and their ilk.

"Hey, no fair!" Han called out. The Princess was fast, but she'd have to hike these big steps, and that would slow her down. He started up after Leia, but soon had a much better idea. He harnessed himself to the nearby vine and pushed off hard, arcing down and then up to the large platform on a giant Cyprian tree. As he untethered himself, he spotted Leia making her way up the stairs. He could tell she'd lost steam a lot quicker than she usually did and felt a twinge of guilt at not following her up the steps. Then he had an infinitely better idea because, even at her slowed pace, she was going to beat him and he wasn't going to let that happen.

"Hey sweetheart," he called, waiting for her to circle the tree again so she could see him.

"Looks like you're going to have to admit defeat, moon jockey," she called back, increasing her pace to be sure of it.

"Oh, yeah?" he said, a glint in his eye at the thought of both winning AND making her laugh, which sounded like the galaxy's best combination to him. "Only if you actually DON'T want to see what you said this morning you wanted to see me do tonight."

Leia, winding her ways around the far side of the tree, heard his taunt and scanned her memories of what she'd said this morning. When she recognized the reference, she froze for a moment. He wasn't seriously going to…she peeked out around the trunk and…yep, he was doing exactly that. He'd removed every stitch of clothing, except his boots and his holster, and was busy shoving his Alliance uniform into his satchel and throwing it over his head.

"I'm ignoring you," she called out. "And I'm still going to win." She tried to force herself to keep climbing and ignore his antics, but she could feel a laugh coming on, and she really wanted to watch this, if only to be able to tell their friends exactly how her husband managed to mangle his penis while swinging on a vine naked on the first night of their wedding trip. It was almost worth losing this race. Almost.

"You can't resist," Han called out as he harnessed in and pushed off, crowing "Yahooooo" as he swung through the trees like…like someone who was going to get to their suite way before she did.

"Dammit, he got me," she muttered, allowing herself one more second to admire his lean, muscled body before she took off up the stairs, arriving at the entrance to the treehouse just in time to see Han leaning against the doorframe, totally naked except for his boots and blaster. She couldn't quite decide if he looked ridiculous or delectable, but he did have an irresistible look on his face, a boyish combination of smugness and glee.

She burst out laughing, the kind of deep, belly laugh that she hasn't laughed in so many years. She laughed until there were tears of mirth rolling down her cheeks, until she had to lean against Han for support. He more than willingly took her in his arms, feeling like he would burst with joy at seeing her helpless with giggles.

Finally, she got a hold of herself for a moment, looked down at his boots, and burst into a fresh round of laughter.

"You…" she wheezed, "…you look ridiculous…naked except for spacer boots and a holster."

"Maybe," he agreed, his smile as bright as the Orias starcluster, "but I won."

"I demand a judge's review. I was interfered with – a hot, naked Corellian crossed my path."

Suddenly, he became serious, his hazel eyes locking on hers. A thrill of excitement made her suddenly warmer than the race up the steps had.

"No," he said in that unbearably sexy voice of his, "I definitely won, because I made you laugh like that for the first time in a very long time."

She nodded wistfully, acknowledging the truth of his words, before he leaned in and kissed her, his tongue gently teasing hers. She felt every nerve in her body responding to him and pulled him closer, her hands clutching his hair as his lips traveled down to her jaw, down further to the throbbing pulsepoint in her neck…

Then he quickly pulled her up and stepped away, his eyes focused on the forest as they both heard an approaching speeder. He pulled on his shirt and grabbed his blaster, sensing rather than seeing that Leia, next to him, already had her blaster in hand. They glanced at each other quickly asking, without words, the same questions: Could the news have been wrong? Did Imperial fighters still patrol this forest?

The motor went silent about fifty feet beneath them. Then came a scratching sound, as if something, or someone, was climbing the tree trunk. Han started to breathe normally again – it was definitely a Wookiee – and Leia caught a momentary sense of a friendly sentient.

Their tension dissolved as first Chewie's head, and then the rest of him, popped into view. Chewie looked his half-dressed friend up and down and let out a guffaw.

**You're an idiot, Solo.** He dropped Han's dress coat and bloodstripes on the platform next to his friend. **Good think I hung around to make sure you didn't break your neck. Next time try to remember to close your satchel when you do something stupid to impress your mate.**

Chewie turned away with a wave, still laughing at the foolish things males of every species did to impress their mates. He remembered some of the dumb things he'd done to make Malla smile when they were first mated. Heck, he remembered some dumb things he'd done last time he'd been home. Fortunately, Wookiee anatomy did not allow his foolishness to allow his genitals to flap in the breeze on a vine that may have—

**Solo** Chewie called as he climbed down to his speeder. **You might want to take a shower. There can be itchbugs on those vines.**

Han's eyes grew wide. He looked down. He turned to Leia. "I'll be back in a sec."

With that, he hurried into the treehouse, found the fresher, and turned the shower on full-blast.


	10. Chapter 10

Chapter Ten

 **Sorry it's late - I'm behind on my "new chapter Monday" promise. Anyway, a little mush, a little angst, a little sex, a little talk. I need to get a move on with the plot of this story, I know - I'm doing a little too much vamping here because I haven't had time to sit down and tease the whole plot out... Will get a move on, but reviews welcome and appreciated, as always!**

Waiting for Han to resolve any potential itchbug infestations, Leia tossed their clothes in the room's autovalet and curled up on the absurdly oversized wooden bed, which had to be twice as large as any in the Winter Palace back home. Clearly, Wookiees were not good judges of the size and sleep movements of most sentient species. They did, however, have a keen sense of the aesthetic, as a large, open skylight above the bed provided an unobscured view of the Mitabi nebula. The soft wooshing of the wind in the top branches of the trees lulled her into a blessed sense of peacefulness as she closed her eyes and breathed in the cool night air.

"Are you debugged?" she smirked, hearing Han exiting the fresher.

"I think he was pulling my leg," Han replied. "But I am one hundred percent bug free."

She opened her eyes to see her husband standing next to their bed, a bath towel wrapped around his waist. _Quite the impressive sight_ , she thought. From the looks of what was going on under that towel, he found the sight of her wrapped in the soft, cashkish throw blanket equally impressive.

He glanced at the holocube she'd left on the night table. Although he could think of many things they could do that would likely make the Princess a whole lot happier than whatever was on that holo, he also figured that thing would be worrying her until she did see it. _Might as well bite the blaster and get it over with…_

"Should we watch it?" Han gestured at the cube.

She shook her head. "Not tonight. It's much too beautiful and romantic here."

"You sure?" he looked at her skeptically.

She nodded a definitive yes. "I know it may be silly and childish, because I have to watch it, but part of me wants to toss it out into the forest, never to be seen again," she shrugged. "Let's watch it tomorrow while we're in hyperspace. I don't want to risk ruining my memories of a day as wonderful as today with whatever may be on that cube."

"Yeah, I get it," Han said as he climbed up onto the bed behind her and started kneading her shoulders. The knots still felt like rocks. "But you know whatever's on that cube changes nothing for me."

She leaned back into him, her hand stroking his thigh. "I know, Han. You're my only constant."

Han took that in, continuing to work on her back, feeling her jump as he hit particularly sore spots.

"I like that," he mused. "I like being your constant. Kest knows you've been mine for a real long time…even when it was the last thing I wanted."

Leia laughed. "Thank heavens even our stubbornness has its limits."

"Some things are impossible to resist," he replied, brushing her hair to the side and kissing the nape of her neck. She shivered at the touch of his lips, almost ready to stop talking and start doing, but, since Han had said she shouldn't hold her feelings back…

"Han," she said softly, "when I heard Chewie's speeder and I thought it might be…" She shook her head, tracing a figure on the silky bedspread.

Han heard the change in her voice and stopped working on her back. She didn't turn to him, so he flipped himself around until he was in front of her. He had a feeling she had something tough to say, and he didn't intend not to be able to read her face if she did.

"You were afraid they were Imps coming for us," he finished.

She nodded slowly. "I feel like I could jump out of my skin at the slightest provocation right now. Do you feel that way too?" She gave him a searching look.

"I'm kinda used to feeling that way," he admitted, a bit abashed. "I've been watching my back since I was a pretty little kid. Now I just watch two backs – well, three when Chewie's around – so the tiniest possibility of a threat always makes me ready to jump."

"Maybe I should be the one doling out massages," she replied, taking his hand and holding it close to her. "Do you worry that you'll feel that way for the rest of your life?"

Han felt a prickling of alarm, telling him to tread carefully. "I think I will; it's just a part of me at this point. Does that bother you?"

"No," she said. "Not if you don't feel burdened by it. I'm just feeling burdened by my own jumpiness – and wondering if I'll ever be able to acclimate to a life without war. You think I'm little battle-mad, Han?"

"No. I think you're a little battle-weary. I know it feels like it's been forever, but you've only been fighting for four years," Han said. "And I'm not sayin' it wasn't awful. But I'm saying that you can find your way back…" he hesitated, "…if that's the way the galaxy goes."

"You're not convinced."

"You married a skeptic."

She wanted to hear more of his thoughts, more about why he wasn't convinced, because she had niggling doubts too, but…not right now. She could only handle her feelings in small doses at the moment.

"Yes, I married a skeptic. I needed someone to balance my overwhelming idealism," she grinned.

"Truer words were never spoken," Han joked, seeing Leia's moment of introspection passing. He kissed her forehead as she nestled into his arms. "So, whadya think we should do here? Watch some old smashball replays on the Kashyyki holo?"

Leia looked up at him. "I seem to remember a certain promise you made this morning. Something about the second time we had married sex?"

"Yeah, maybe later," Han feigned a yawn. "So, smashball?"

She turned around and tackled him, laughing. "Troublemaker."

"Yeah, I am," he said, quickly shifting their positions so his lips could get at that sensitive spot beneath her ear, which caused her to gasp with pleasure, "But lucky for you, this troublemaker always keeps his promises."

XXXXXXXXXXX

Leia gently stroked the soft hair on Han's chest as she watched him sleep. He looked so much younger and more carefree in his sleep, like the young version of Han she used to imagine doing the Kessel Run in less than twelve parsecs just because he could. The more she'd learned about him, though, the more she realized that, despite the jibes she had thrown at him years ago about his aversion to responsibility, that Han had probably never existed, because his life had never been carefree.

She smiled as a small snore escaped his lips. Thankfully, he wasn't much of a snorer, although given a good pair of earbarriers, she could forgive him for even wall-shaking snoring. Whether he could forgive himself for falling asleep immediately after a passionate lovemaking session was another question. He'd again apologized for the job the carbonite poisoning had done on his 'Corellian stamina' before he'd given in to sleep.

As for Leia, she saw absolutely no reason for apologies, because she hadn't know that such intense pleasure was even possible. His expert hands – and tongue, she grinned sheepishly – had brought her to shuddering climax repeatedly, until she was almost embarrassed by her body's responsiveness to his touch. She'd bit her lip to try to stifle her moans, but before his mouth covered hers to prevent that, he'd whispered, "Don't. Your moans let me know I'm doin' good." And then he'd entered her and turned her into what she could only describe as liquid fire as she clung to him, gasping his name, until they both exhausted themselves and all she could do was lie in his arms like a ragdoll as she watched his eyes flutter closed.

' _Good' didn't even begin to describe it…_ she thought.

A soft whimper from her husband brought her back to the present.

"Shh," she whispered. "I'm here. You're here." She'd heard him make that sound before; it usually presaged one of the hibernation-related night terrors that he'd struggled with since he'd been freed from the carbonite, a bout of thermal dysregulation, or both. Those symptoms had been constant in the days after they returned from Tatooine, leaving Leia unwilling to let Han be alone and Han getting grumpier by the day, unwilling to sleep until they eased off to recurring at irregular intervals like Too-Onebee had said they would until the last of the carbonite worked its way out of his system.

Hibernation sounded like such a peaceful experience, but as Leia had learned quickly from the medics in the days before she set off to find him, no human being could handle hibernating for long. She'd bitten her nails to the quick as the months passed and the danger that Han's hibernation cycle inside the carbonite would decay became more and more immediate.

Han whimpered again, a pitiful sound escaping his throat as he held his hands up to protect himself. She so wanted to wake him up, but the medics had warned her against it. Unlike her nightmares, where Han's shaking her awake before she started screaming was the best thing that could possibly happen, his brain had to work its own way to wakefulness in these dreams or she'd be harming the healing process of his cerebral cortex. Onebee had explained that his brain needed to work its way to a static understanding of the months of hibernation, and that process mostly happened when a person was asleep. The repeated dreams – they were always the same – was part of that process.

"Leia," he whispered, "I'm sorry…leaving you to Vader…oh, gods, I'm sorry…I love you…"

"I know," she whispered tears pooling in her eyes as she stroked his hair. Her father had done this to him. Her father, whom she had foolishly forgiven…

"Leia!" he cried out as he woke, sitting bolt upright in bed as he struggled to recognize his surroundings.

"It's alright," Leia whispered, pulling him close to her. "We're on Kashyyk."

He nodded, breathing heavily. "Yeah, I got it…that was a bad one."

"Yes," Leia agreed, although as she put her hand to his forehead, she realized that they weren't through this bout of sickness. His forehead was cold to her touch. As much as she didn't want to see him suffering anymore, she desperately hoped that Han was approaching what Onebee – the only Alliance medic who had carbonite poisoning stored in his experiential memory banks – had described as the last severe bouts of hibernation sickness as the body fought off the final residue of the poison in its system. Then Han could be free of at least the physical effects; he didn't talk about the emotional effects much, but neither Han nor Leia had fooled themselves into thinking that they didn't exist.

"Han, you're cold," Leia said quietly as she bundled the blankets around him.

"Not so cold," he said with a shiver. "I can handle it."

Leia frowned. He was doing that thing he liked to do when he was weak, injured, or ill: simultaneously minimizing it and shutting her out.

"Don't be ridiculous, you're as cold as Hoth," she snapped, although she didn't stop rubbing his arms to warm him.

He eyed her balefully, shivering. "I said I can handle it. I'll be fine."

Looking at him in his cocoon of blankets, Leia softened. He looked miserable. She could tell that he was starting to fight the nausea that accompanied thermal dysregulation. It was a battle he'd lose, thankfully, because that was the most effective way to get rid of carbonite toxicity, unpleasant though it was.

"Remember what you said to me yesterday?" She looked intently at her shivering husband. "Whatever you have to face, as long as I live, you're not going to have to face it alone – not ever?" She took his face in her hands, forcing him to look at her. "That works both ways."

He didn't respond, but he leaned into her warm body, silently accepting her continued attempts to keep him warm. The fact was, he wasn't sure if he could answer her without shedding a tear or two, and, on top of everything, he didn't want to start bawling like an infant. This wasn't how their wedding trip was supposed to start. He was supposed to be taking care of her. But he figured he'd give explaining himself a shot.

"No one's ever t-t-t-aken care of me until you, Leia," he said quietly, his teeth chattering as he became colder. He knew it would get worse before it got better. "C-C-Chewie, I guess. But we mostly leave each other alone when we're s-s-sick. So I'm not a v-v-very good patient."

"You're going to have to get used to it, General," she said wryly, but her eyes were full of compassion. "Besides, it's not every man who gets a Princess to take care of him. We're not known for our nursing skills."

"They seem p-p-pretty good to me," Han replied.

"Come on, let's get you into a hot shower like Onebee ordered—" She stood to help him up.

"Haven't been d-d-doing it," Han admitted.

"Not following someone else's orders? I'm shocked," she deadpanned, as she ducked under his arm to give him the support he needed. She hurried him into the fresher, noticing that it was one of those high end spa freshers she hadn't seen since Alderaan.

"Steam 130, Temp 110," she commanded. The room quickly filled with warm steam as she guided Han under the rainfall shower, quickly moving in front of him and placing her head against his cold chest so his chin could rest on her head. She rubbed his arms in the hot water and, after quite a while, she felt the cold staring to dissipate. Of course, that only meant that they were nearing the midway point of the bout of dysregulation.

"I'm sorry about this, Leia," Han murmured.

She shook her head. "Don't be. They warned you that you'd probably have a few really bad attacks at the very end. Maybe we're getting there early. Maybe this is a very good thing."'

"Still…" he said and trailed off, starting to feel the sharp needles of heat prickling his skin. He never could decide which was worse – the feeling that his organs were freezing up or the feeling that flaming needles were trying to poke their way up out of his skin. They both sucked bantha balls.

"Steam off, Water 65," Leia commanded immediately.

"How could you tell so quick?" He wondered aloud.

He was right, she realized. She'd order to change in water temperature before she could feel that his skin was starting to overheat.

"I've been able to sense your presence since we were in the Consulate," she admitted. "I guess I can sometimes sense physical discomfort too."

"I'm not complaining," Han said. The cold water seemed to be keeping the burning feeling manageable, so he stood silently, leaning on Leia for support as she tried not to shiver under the ice cold water.

After a few minutes, he sat down on the shower bench. "I'll sit here until it passes. You should get some sleep. Long flight tomorrow."

Leia's eyes narrowed. She hoped she could keep her teeth from chattering. If Han noticed that, he would most certainly toss her out of the fresher. "Nice try, flyboy. You think after everything we've been through I'm too squeamish to see a little vomit?"

"It's not a little vomit, sweetheart. It's a human biology-defying amount of upchuck." He groaned as his stomach turned over. Any second now, he'd be worshipping the porcelite throne. Now there was a sexy vision for his wife.

"And you're weak already, Han, so yes, you're going to have to vomit in my presence. You know, for a man so unabashed about swinging around on vines totally naked, you sure can be a prude about some things—"

He felt his stomach roll again and he wobbled to his feet, making it to the porcelite just in time to do what he assumed had to be in the top five unappealing things a husband could do in front of his new bride: retching out toxic garbage poisoning your system. Finally, after what seemed like an impossibly long time, Han stood upright.

"Kreff," he muttered, washing out his mouth in the sink and making his way over to duck under the cold shower one more time before Leia helped him down to the shower bench. "I didn't think it was possible to be that sick."

"It was pretty impressive," Leia agreed, shivering in the cold despite her best efforts. She hoped that the violence of this episode would cause some good news on the medsensor she intended to pull out of her bag and wrap around his arm as soon as they got back to the bedroom.

"Well," Han said tiredly, "The day before our wedding, we both think the other is dead. The night of our wedding, we both pass out from exhaustion. The night after our wedding, I get impressively sick. What can we do for an encore tomorrow?"

Leia smiled grimly. "Watch that holo, I think."

Han nodded tiredly. "Yeah. We're great at topping ourselves. But I think at least today's event is over." He put an arm around her. "You're shivering."

"If I said, 'I'm fine, I can handle it,' who would that sound like?"

He grinned weakly. "Like some gorgeous nerf-herder I know who throws up his guts in the most irresistibly sexy way. Dry cycle –"

Leia sat with him in silence, her head on his shoulder, as the dry cycle ran and the dryer bots made short work of drying their hair.

"How did you get so good at bringing me through one of these episodes?" he asked, suddenly curious.

"You don't remember the trip back from Tatooine and the few days after?"

He shook his head. "It's all a blur."

"Accidentally doing in Boba Fett?"

He shook his head. "All I really remember is that I finally found the courage to tell you I love you."

"In between bouts of dysregulation and vomiting," she added. "We spent so much time in the Falcon's fresher that I developed wrinkleskin on my hands and feet."

"You got naked with me months ago and I can't remember it? That's a damn shame." Try as he might, his memory of those days was a combination of confused and missing, except for the moments – two moments, he remembered – that he told Leia those words he'd promised himself he wouldn't hold back for one second longer.

"Not naked. I was wearing one of your old shirts. But given the way it stuck to me, I might as well have been naked."

Han sighed. "Maybe we could, you know, re-enact that whole you-in-a-wet-shirt-with-me-in-the-shower thing in the next week or two. Leaving out the fever, chills, and upchuck."

"That sounds like a plan," she grinned at him as the last of the drybots buzzed way from her hair and latched itself to the ceiling. "Now let's get you some rest. You need it."

He silently agreed; he didn't even protest when she supported him as they walked back to bed. He dropped himself down like a sack of beetroots, exhausted both by his physical weakness and the unnerving thoughts he was having about the nightmare that the months in carbonite had been, those mostly blank days afterwards, and the nightmares it left him with. He both wanted – and didn't want – to share those thoughts with Leia, who'd grabbed a medsensor from her bag and returned to bed to wrap it around his arm. It would take several minutes to come up with an accurate read-out, so she lay down next him and pulled him close, wrapping her small body around his and stroking his hair.

 _That feels so good_ …he thought. _Not in a sexual way, really, I mean, that's always there but…_ He realized that he felt completely accepted and loved, even in his weakness. That was an entirely new feeling for him. _It's now or never…_

"Leia," he said softly. "I was really scared in there."

"In there?" She motioned quizzically to the fresher.

"No," he shook his head. "In the carbonite. I started to wake up in there."

She felt her blood run cold. She'd known they'd been racing against time, that since Han was a young, healthy, and strong human, the hibernation cycle would decay more quickly than average, causing more and more periods of consciousness that would – if they didn't get him out – inexorably lead to insanity once he reached a state of full consciousness and realized that he was trapped, perhaps forever, a disembodied consciousness never to live and never to die and be freed from the trap. But Han had never said anything to her – or, as far as she knew, to anyone – about having memories of his time in the carbonite.

"You were conscious?" she asked, still stroking his hair. She didn't want to think about the kind of psychic agony that must have accompanied the awareness of his circumstances.

"There were times…" he trailed off, trying to gather his thoughts. "Well, I guess I didn't have any perception of time. I don't know when it started happening. But I know I had times when my brain was awake. At first it seemed like seconds. Then minutes before I was gone again. Then longer. I don't know how long. But I was starting to be awake long enough to remember what happened and know that I could be that way for a very long time. Just existing. Trapped. And hoping that for the first time in my life someone cared enough to come after me, even though I didn't deserve it…even if just to realize that the best thing to do would be to find me and let me die right there."

"I would have looked for as long as it took," Leia said quietly. "Even if the 'you' I knew was gone and all that was left was…I knew there was a chance that we could find you too late – a year, or two years – and the most merciful thing that could happen was that you didn't survive the decarbonization. I didn't have any idea how I was going to be able to face th-" She swallowed hard and shook her head, willing herself to forget those awful feelings, those nights of tossing and turning with terror that they'd find him too late and wondering what her obligations to him were if she did. _We are both here,_ she reminded herself. _You are lying in bed with your husband, who is going to be fine, but he needs you right now. So get a grip and don't get lost in horrors of the past when he needs you NOW..._

"What are you thinking?"

"You've been struggling with this – with these memories," she said, tears in her eyes.

He nodded.

"Why didn't you tell me?" she whispered. "I wouldn't have let you deal with this alone." _My father did this to you…_

"At first I wasn't really sure what had happened in there. Then once I read all that stuff you gave me about carbonite poisoning and hibernation, and what's happened to people…I didn't want anybody to start thinkin' I was insane."

"You're not insane," she said, before gently kissing him. "At least no more insane than you were before the carbonite."

"At least you know my baseline," he smiled softly.

"How'd you manage to hold on, Han?" she asked. The medics' assumption, although they couldn't be completely certain, was that once consciousness reasserted itself, insanity came fairly soon afterwards. Somehow, he'd managed to keep it at bay long enough for his friends to rescue him.

"I had something I needed to tell you," he said. "Something that I needed to make right. I figured that eventually Jabba would let me out and try to finish me off. So I kept telling myself, if I held on, if I kept focusing on memories that I knew were real, I had a chance," he shrugged, then looked away. "But by the time you saved me…there were things…thoughts that had started to make no sense, even to me…I don't think I had much longer."

She thought back to that night, of how relieved she'd been when his first words - that he couldn't see, asking where he was, who she was - were rational and reasonable. How months of fear had disappeared with his questions. She'd never even thought to ask if he had memories from his time in the carbonite.

"I wish we'd found you more quickly," she said. "Before you had to suffer through that."

"I know what Jabba had planned for me, Leia," he replied. "I was just damn lucky that you came at all. The last thing you need to feel is regret."

Leia wasn't totally sure she was thrilled that Lando or Luke – probably Lando, she thought – had told Han how Jabba intended to deal with him. He'd planned to wait until Han was most certainly insane, then free him from the carbonite and lock him up in the dank basement cells of the palace, a cautionary tale of what happened to those who disappointed Jabba: they were tortured into insanity. She felt a momentary flush of satisfaction that she'd taken matters into her own hands. He could never do that to anyone again. Then she felt a twinge of guilt. _Would a Jedi think that way?_

The medsensor beeped, distracting them both from their difficult thoughts. Leia unwrapped it from Han's arm as he studied her face in the moonlight. He reached out to brush his hand through her hair while she studied the readout on the monitor. _She doesn't even realize it. What she's just done for me tonight, and what we've just talked about, proves beyond a shadow of a doubt that all of the strength she thought was lost to re-opened old wounds is still there, right under the surface…_

"You realize how strong you've been for me for the last hour, sweetheart?" he asked. "I know what you were doing a few minutes ago, when I asked you what you were thinking: you were telling yourself not to let the past get in the way of what you needed to do. Maybe you're not as broken as you think."

"You needed me," she shrugged. "That I can handle. Action keeps me safe from my thoughts. If I told you what I was thinking about those months, it would have been a very different story."

"Yeah, I get that," he said. "I guess you know now exactly how much I get it."

"Yes," she slid down under the covers next to him, "but I do have some good news."

She held up the medsensor, lighting up the readout. Han squinted to read the Aurabesh writing: CARBONITE METABOLITE LEVEL: LOW. He felt a rush of relief; the medsensor had never read anything less than "moderate" before.

"It's going away, Han," she said, kissing him. "Pretty soon, this will be over for you."

He gave her a slightly embarrassed lopsided grin. "Physically, at least."

"Well, we have two weeks to start to deal with the other stuff."

"No," he said. "These two weeks are about you."

"No," she replied, pressing her body up against his, feeling his warmth as she snuggled into his arms. "These two weeks are about us."

"But mostly you," he replied, unwilling to give her the last word.

"If you insist," Leia yawned. "So where are we going again?"

"Nice try, Princess," Han smiled as he started to fade off to sleep, breathing in the scent of her hair. "Very nice try."


	11. Chapter 11

Chapter 11

 **Sorry for the delays in posting. Life got in the way again, and I had to figure out a bit where I'm going with all this.**

Luke stood at the base of the _Bespin Dream's_ gangway considering his options. He'd promised Leia that he would keep an eye on Lando and stop him from doing anything crazy, but when he'd made that promise he hadn't yet learned of the existence of this "Sanctuary" and Vader's visits to it. He was fairly certain Leia would expect him to accompany Lando to Bespin nevertheless, given that Vader wasn't going to turn up at this place again any time soon. Still, there was no way to know how many Imperials or Imperial sympathizers knew of it, and, depending on what it held, arriving after Imperials could be disastrous.

At least that was the story Luke was telling himself, but he wasn't quite sure it was true. Part of him was simply deeply curious; why had Vader spent so much time there after his first encounter with his son on Bespin? Did the Sanctuary have something to do with Luke?

"You coming with us or no?" Lando called as he walked down the gangway. "Love to have you along, but Wedge and I have this if you have other plans."

"You'll keep your distance, right, Lando?" Luke asked, opening himself to the Force so he could determine how big a crock Lando was about to feed him.

"Just reconnaissance, Luke," Lando replied, and Luke did not feel that momentary bright flare of tension that usually signaled evasiveness. But Lando had years of practice at being evasive.

"Okay," Luke agreed. "I've found some information that may lead me to the Jedi Archives. Or at least something Vader was keeping secret from the Emperor. I think I need to do some reconnaissance on that myself."

Lando frowned. Despite his friend's Jedi powers, Lando thought that Luke was far too willing to walk into danger with half a plan. Their nearly-botched rescue of Han was a prime example.

"Ok, now it's my turn to ask you,"Lando said. "Just reconnaissance? No Jedi heroics when you have no backup, right?"

"Of course," Luke agreed. "Unless—"

"Unless you see your opportunity." Lando half-grinned, half-grimaced. "Just remember: same with me, Luke. So if you do something stupid, just remember I might be half a galaxy away choosing to do the same thing. After all, fair is fair."

With that, Lando gave Luke his best smile and a salute. "Stay safe, commander," he clapped Luke on the shoulder before heading up the ramp to the _Dream._

 _Leia would kill me…_ thought Luke. _Oh well, at least she's otherwise occupied…_

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

"He's not coming?" Wedge, sitting in the _Dream's_ co-pilot seat, motioned at Luke's retreating figure.

"No," Lando shook his head. "I hope he knows what he's doing."

"Yeah," Wedge replied, "about that…do we know what _we're doing_?"

IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII

Luke climbed up the ladder into the cockpit of the small snub-nosed fighter he'd rented from an Ithorian member of the Alliance. He hadn't bothered to as Rieekan whether he could borrow an X-Wing on this trip, as Rieekan's answer would have to be "no" given Mon Mothma's feelings on the subject of the Jedi. Any other answer would have risked both Rieekan's head and his commission.

The Alliance leadership was likely already discussing the revelation of Vader's Sanctuary and determining whether to send an analysis unit or a strike team to investigate it, so Luke needed to get there first – not to lay exclusive claim to the archives or anything belonging to Vader, but to learn more about the man who was his fallen-then-redeemed father before the Alliance destroyed the Sanctuary, as he had no doubt they would, sooner or later.

 _Or maybe,_ Luke thought, _I just want to see it, and to sense it, while I'm alone._

"Artoo," he called out to his astromech, busy warming the engines, "Can you give me a readout on Kintares?"

The droid whistled and chirped.

"Yea, that's where we're going," Luke said.

A baleful sigh, followed by a few angry buzzes, came from Artoo.

"Sorry, Artoo. I promise to someday take you somewhere hospitable to droids. But I guess that's not today, huh?"  
A readout about Kintares popped up on Luke's viewer, revealing that it was a large world in the mid-Rim's fourth sector. Sparsely inhabited, and at that only by several clans of a humanoid species called the Gatix, the majority of the planet was covered by a very shallow sea of mildly acidic water, under which hid a complex series of caverns encircling the planet in which the Gatix clans lived – and fought, Luke read. The clans didn't appear to be best buddies.

Three uninhabited land masses protruded from the sea: a sandy island called X'wix; the dense, deciduous forest of M'lal; and the flat, icy tundra of D'or at the planet's south pole.

"Artoo, are there any mapped structures on the land?"

Artoo beeped a definite negative that didn't surprise Luke. Luke immediately ruled out X'wix as an option. But between the other two…he reached out with the Force.

"We'll head for M'lal," he said, before gunning his thrusters and shooting toward the stars.


	12. Chapter 12

Chapter 12

 **I promise this story gets less angsty after we get through this chapter. :)**

The Kanata slid smoothly into hyperspace, its motivator silently kicking the thrusters to lightspeed. Han felt momentary guilt at admiring the luxury yacht's capabilities when he thought of the condition of the _Falcon_. He glanced at his wife with an abashed grin.

"She sure is pretty, but she ain't the _Falcon_."

Leia nodded distractedly from the co-pilot's seat as she felt the weight of the holocube in her pocket. She'd been dreading this moment all morning, intentionally extending their breakfast with Chewie's family by challenging young Warrump to a match of Red Scales, a card game he liked that she too had played as a child. She knew it wasn't at all like her to find so many reasons to delay the inevitable moment when she'd have to activate the holocube, but she still felt one more unexpected revelation might put her right over the edge.

She shook her head, trying to clear the infuriating burning she felt behind her eyes.

"Leia," Han said quietly but firmly as he covered her hand, which still clutched the hyperdrive booster, in his, "you don't need to watch this thing now. Whatever's on it can keep for a while."

"I know," she said, turning to him with a melancholy look. "But it's just going to hang over me like a cloud threatening rain until I do. So I suppose we should just let the rain fall."

Han silently agreed with her; they'd both wonder about it until they saw it, but he worried about how she'd handle any shock that the holo might contain. He also knew that if her parents were on this holo – her true parents, he amended, as he doubted he would ever consider Vader more than a sperm factory despite Leia's revelation of Anakin's appearance in the Coruscant throne room – she would find it very difficult to watch. Although she rarely spoke of her parents, he knew how much she loved them,

Following Leia to the hold, he remembered that supply mission they'd taken to Ravados not long after the evacuation from Yavin, when he'd come across a trembling Leia in a hidden corner of the troop transport. Flummoxed, he'd leaned down to see if she were injured and instead saw a picture of her parents on the datapad she was holding tightly in her hand. It had been one of the few times in that whole year she'd allowed herself to be open with him, allowed him to try his best to soothe her. It had also been one of the only times that year he didn't make a bantha-assed remark. That night, on Ravados, he'd found an old bottle of Aldera wine and they'd both actually been nice to each other. The next day, she'd apologized for her "weakness," he'd made some snarky comment about her being cute when she was weak, and they were back where they started.

"What is it?" Leia asked as she sat down.

"I was just remembering the Ravados mission."

Leia smiled tightly. ""Am I still cute when I'm weak?"

"I wouldn't know," Han replied, sitting down next to her and looking at her intently, "because you are many things, sweetheart, but you aren't weak."

She squeezed his hand in thanks before she set the holocube on the table, hesitating to open it.

"C'mere," Han said, stretching out on the cushioned bench so he could hold her as she watched the holo.

"If I start there instead of sitting up straight, I may end up in a weeping pile on the floor before too long," she observed.

"I won't let you fall," he said, and she accepted his embrace, curling up against his chest and clicking the holocube open.

A moment later, Han heard Leia's ragged gasp as the holo of her parents flickered on. He reached to turn the holo off.

"Leia, is this too much?"

"No," she said softly as she blocked his hand from the holocontrol. "Let it go. I just…I just miss them so."

He nodded, stroking her hair while looking at the holo of Viceroy Bail Organa and Queen Breha Organa before him. Han studied their faces; he didn't know when this had been recorded, and perhaps it was the strain of the war, but Bail looked older than he remembered. It was Breha, though, who made Han do a double-take. As she had remained on Alderaan to govern the planet while Bail assumed a more public position in the Senate, she was a much less familiar figure, but everything about her commanded Han's attention: her brown eyes; the brown hair woven into a complex braid around a small crown; the pert nose. Breha still seemed very young – Leia had told him that she had only been seventeen when she married Bail and assumed the crown, and only twenty when they adopted Leia – but there was an unnerving poise about her that spoke of her nobility and a streak of steely determination in her otherwise gentle eyes. If Han did not know that Leia had been adopted, he would have found it impossible to believe that Breha Organa was not her biological mother.

"Our beautiful Stralea," Bail began, prompting another shuddering breath from Leia.

"It was my father's nickname for me," Leia murmured in explanation. "It's an Alderaanian word for a shooting star. My father always said that as a baby I shot across the galaxy and landed up in their arms."

"It's perfect," Han said softly before they both lapsed into silence to hear what Bail and Breha had to say.

"If you are viewing this holo, Stralea, it means that the war has been won, and you have survived, which gives us both unimaginable joy. But it also means that we – and perhaps our civilization on Alderaan – have not."

Breha quickly interrupted her husband. "Do not weep for us, Leia. Do not mourn our passing for long, as we are now one with the Force and will watch over you with pride always."

With that, Leia felt the tears start rolling down her cheeks. _Dammit_ , she thought. _I never could do what my mother told me. Even now._ She wiped her eyes as Bail continued.

"We have just received word that the Alliance has information that may be crucial to the search for the plans to the Death Star. It is too soon to tell if that information will prove useful, but two pieces of intelligence have been confirmed through multiple channels: the Emperor plans to dissolve the Senate within a standard month, and he has included Alderaan - along with Commenor and Chandrila - on a list of of planets approved for destruction in order to prove the power of the Death Star and to further subdue the galaxy. So we are now in a race against time - for if we evacuate, the Rebel spies' cover will be blown, and the plans will be once again beyond our grasp."

Han's grip on Leia's arm tightened. That kreffwad Palpatine and his vicious pitten Tarkin. Han had tried repeatedly to convince Leia over the years – often after one of her guilt-ridden nightmares at causing the destruction of Alderaan – that whatever Tarkin said, he would not have acted on his own initiative and the Emperor would not have permitted the destruction of a Core world solely to make a difficult prisoner talk. They were more than happy to use it against Leia, of course, but she had only been an excuse. Alderaan would have been destroyed whether or not she had been their prisoner, given the time it had taken to get the plans and the circuitous route the plans had taken before getting to the Alliance military. Han half-wished that he could bring Tarkin and the Emperor back to life just so he could kill them again for all the nights he'd seen Leia wandering the corridors of Echo Base, wracked with guilt.

"We do not know the circumstances under which you will watch this holo, but know this and share it with all," Breha commanded. "Too many have willed themselves to believe that the prophecies of balance in the Force require a mixture of the light and the dark. We reject this: we live in a time of corruption of the prophecy; the Dark Side a corruption of all that is true and good. Balance in the Force will only be achieved when this corruption is ended, and the people of Alderaan would gladly choose death before they would agree to submit themselves to those who ally with or tolerate the ascendancy of the Dark Side."

Leia shivered, recognizing that this discussion about the Dark Side was likely leading into the revelation of truths her parents had never shared with her. She was right; over the next few minutes, Bail told the story of how she came to be their daughter: of a young Jedi named Anakin Skywalker who was, according to Kenobi, the one chosen to establish this balance by effecting an end to the corruption; of Anakin falling in love with and, against the Jedi way, marrying a young former Queen and then-Senator named Padme Amidala of Naboo; of the birth of twins, each strong in the Force; of how, after Padme's death in childbirth (a death which Kenobi came to suspect was due to the draining of her life force so that another could live), they had memorialized her as if she had died during her pregnancy; of how Kenobi – disgraced by his failure with Anakin – had left for Tatooine to protect her twin, Luke, while Leia was brought to Alderaan to be their daughter in order that Palpatine would never learn of their existence; of their initial belief that Anakin had perished on Mustafar.

"You may have fears, daughter," Breha said softly, "that you would not have been raised as our daughter – that you and your brother would have been abandoned had it been know that Vader lived. Nothing could be further from the truth. You would have been raised as our own beloved child whether Vader lived or died."

Han, feeling Leia's tears, warm against his chest, whispered softly into her hair. "Give yourself a break, Leia. Turn it off for a while."

She adamantly shook her head. She needed to hear all of it. She watched as Bail shifted uncomfortably.

"But it is true that the rise of Vader to a position of power and the likelihood that he will one day ascend to the position of Emperor, should we not destroy him and defeat the Empire, has played a role in our changing plans for your future. And we are all too aware that has caused you grief, anger, and confusion," Bail's face was etched with pain. "But know this: from the day you became our child, we intended to raise you to be the next Queen of Alderaan," he smiled wanly, "although your resistance to the idea of an arranged marriage on Alderaan was impressive."

"Despite the obvious happiness of your father and I," Breha raised an eyebrow. "We are in any event likely happier than you would have been with the lead singer of Altima Zoo."

"Who?" Han asked, pausing the holo. "Who's he?"

Leia managed a small laugh. Her mother had always responded with a slight remonstrance combined with a reminder of how happy she and Bail had always been, when Leia argued that a Queen, of all people, should be able to choose her own mate.

"He was the lead singer of a very successful pop band. When I was twelve, he was the height of my marital ambitions."

"You set a low bar for me," Han commented. Thanks."

Relieved by the moment of levity, Leia took a breath and restarted the holo, where Bail's smile faded.

"It broke my heart to see you begin to suspect that you were being introduced to heirs to the throne of other worlds that supported the Rebellion for a possible marital alliance. It broke my heart to be unable to tell you all – It must have seemed a terrible betrayal."

Bail's voice cracked and he looked away. Breha took his hand, gently, and continued in her husband's stead.

"Now that you know your biological parentage, I am sure your mind wanders back to your presentation to the Emperor, and you are blaming yourself for forcing our hand – for changing our plans for your future."

Leia shook her head. Her mother knew her so well – more than she'd ever credited. Leia had been struggling with that question since Luke told her of their shared history on Endor.

"You are in no way to blame," Breha continued. "We had already been forced to change our plans for your future, and, although your father disagreed with me, I sided with your desire to be presented to the Emperor, despite the dangers, upon your joining the Senate. In fact, I believed those dangers to be minimal, as Sera Pondador had, on our instruction, taught you certain ways of using the Force to protect yourself so that they would become integral to you long before you were old enough to understand that what you were doing was not a skill every child possessed. Sera, you see, was a Jedi in hiding."

Leia gasped. Suddenly the games she'd played with Sera when she was barely more than a toddler were more than just "games" and "magic tricks," as Sera called them; they were ways of teaching her how to use the Force without even realizing what she was doing. She recalled Sera daily handing her a deck of Red Scales cards and challenging Leia to concentrate on preventing her from guessing the right card. She remembered playing games that involved trying to guess the word the other was thinking and games of hide-and-find with the finder wearing a blindfold. Sera left suddenly when Leia was six – she had watched disconsolately from the top of the Palace's elegant curving stairway as her parents kissed her tutor goodbye and wished that the Force would be with her. Before leaving, Sera had turned back and looked at Leia.

"Princess," she had said. "Always remember what you have learned from our games. The Force will be with you. Always."

 _I have been using the Force all my life…_ Leia realized.

"Sera left us for two reasons. First, you were of an age where she felt obliged by her vows to the Jedi Order to begin to explain the workings of the Force to you – something all of us agreed would not serve you, and indeed would put you in danger should Vader or the Emperor sense you beginning to understand how to interact with the Force – and because she had heard rumors of surviving Jedi gathering on Trlisk-3. We later heard that she along with two other surviving Jedi had been killed in battle against Vader, leaving Obi-Wan Kenobi and – should he still be alive – Master Yoda as the only surviving Jedi," Breha finished.

"So it was not your meeting with the Emperor that caused us to change our mind, although I do believe the Emperor felt some working of the Force when you were presented. Our plans have changed because…" Bail sighed, "because of an Alderaanian whom you may remember. A man named Wade Ullyris, whom we made High Commissioner of the Consulate on Coruscant. I posted him to Coruscant in order to remove him from his trouble-making on Alderaan. That has proven a grave mistake."

Bail hesitated, looking down, as if he could not believe his strategic error. He had not been prone to strategic errors, Leia knew, and he would believe an error involving his daughter to be a great personal failing. Her heart broke for him. "Oh father…" she whispered.

"You are aware of the small anti-monarchist faction of our people. Although they comprise less than five percent of our population, they are well-organized and well-funded, likely by the Empire itself. Ullyris has used his position to quietly investigate how you came to be our daughter, and whose child you may indeed be, intending to use that information to topple your claim to the throne. We learned, several years ago, that Ullyris had begun making overtures on Naboo. As of now, those overtures have not resulted in the answers he is looking for, but something, somehow, has brought him dangerously close to at least a part of the truth of your history. Should he find any proof of your mother's identity, he could call a conclave in order to debate both whether you retain the right to succeed, as the child of another world's former Queen, and our right to continue to rule should he be able to prove that we were aware of the false information contained in your birth papers. The House Organa would be at an end, and the anti-monarchists could more easily pursue their demands for a new form of government during what was sure to be a fraught transition.

"But, of course, that was not our fear - we have great confidence that the monarchy would continue in the capable hands of the House Kalen. Our fear was much more immediate: if the identity of your mother become known, all would have been revealed to Vader. And that – risking revealing you, and your brother, to the evil of Darth Vader, is a risk we refused to take unless Obi-Wan Kenobi contacted us to inform us that he believed the time has come to reveal to you, and to Luke, your heritage. For Kenobi has long believed that you, and your brother, are perhaps the only hope the galaxy has of defeating Vader.

"So our imperfect solution was to let it be known within our circles on Coruscant – fully aware that this information would travel back to the anti-monarchists – that your mother and I had determined that, in order to strengthen ties among the worlds involved in the Rebellion, we would sacrifice the House Organa and create a marital alliance between you and the heir to another rebelling world. The anti-monarchists were appeased – they called off Ullyris' search, for they knew all they needed to do, once you were offworld, was to await your mother's passing—"

"—or successfully carry out an assassination," Breha remarked dryly.

"—But you have therefore remained safe from Vader discovering the truth until, if ever, the time is right," Bail said. "You may wonder why we did not simply bring a charge of treason against Ullyris. We could not, for we began this chain of events long ago by providing false information to the Alderaanian Council, and his defense would likely have raised questions of that information. The records of your adoption and your acceptance into the House Organa – which you will find stored safely in the Llasketh Archives and which you should acquire – contain false information regarding the place of your birth and the identity of your mother. Your father is marked "unknown."

"And we regret nothing of our decision," Breha added. "All we regret is the pain that all of this has brought you."

"All of our complex machinations regarding your future seem silly and irrelevant now that the galaxy has erupted in open warfare," Bail said. "But we feel confident that at least we have succeeded in keeping Vader – and the rest of the galaxy - ignorant of his relationship to you."

Leia shook her head. It all made horrible sense. Her parents had risked everything to conceal her truth from the galaxy. So many had suffered to conceal her truth. Too many.

The holo image of Bail turned momentarily from the camera. He quickly turned back. "We must end our recording now, Stralea," Bail hurriedly continued. "I leave you with only this instruction: the Alderaanians who remained on Coruscant during the war, should they remain alive, are not to be trusted, including – perhaps especially – the High Commissioner. If Wade Ullyris remains alive, do not trust him. He is not of the Light nor of the Dark. He stands only for himself."

"We do not know in what state the galaxy – or Alderaan – may be when you are viewing this," Breha added. "We do not tell you what to do with all you have learned today; it is no longer our place, and you have always had an unerring sense of right and wrong. You are the woman who now stands in our stead. You are our own strong, brave, and wise daughter. We love you, Leia."

"And may the Force be with you…always."

With that, the holo image of her parents faded away as Leia quietly sobbed in her husband's arms.


	13. Chapter 13

Chapter 13

 **Just a note: many many thanks to Mako-clb for pointing out something in the last chapter that needed to be addressed in this one - the question of why Alderaan wasn't evacuated. Sometimes when you're writing, you just miss a tree for the forest, and Mako smartly pointed that out to me. So thanks for the tip, Mako, and explanation included herein!**

After a few minutes passed, Leia raised her tear-stained face from Han's chest. She looked into his eyes and gave him a small, pained smile.

"Thanks," she whispered.

He kissed her forehead. "No thanks needed. Hell, that holo almost made _me_ sniffle."

"Yes. It was rough." Leia ran her thumb along her eyelid. _I must look a total disaster…_ She took a quick look at Han's tan shirt and confirmed a large, wet mascara splotch on it.

"I hate for my first comment here to be practical, but do we need to change course and get a hold of those records they were talking about?"

"No, they're safe. Maybe we should stop on our way back to Coruscant, but the Llasketh Archives are maintained by bankers who serve the royal family of Xzibond-5, which is a world that seeks nothing more than to be left alone to do their business. The greater galaxy means little to them. Even the Imperials never bothered with them, as they chose to pay the increasing taxes and levies other than risk becoming involved."

"Ok," Han agreed, relieved, as he was itching to get Leia somewhere that she could just lie down in a hammock in the sun and listen to the waves. More and more, he was feeling like he desperately needed that too.

"So you ok, Princess?" Han asked, caressing her cheek as she sat up.

"This may sound crazy, Han," she said, " but as hard as that holo was to watch, in a way it made everything a little bit better. Some things that didn't make sense and some things that hurt me make more sense, and hurt me less, now." She looked at her husband sheepishly. "And although you've been saying it for years, I guess I truly believe for the first time that the destruction of Alderaan wasn't entirely my fault."

"Wasn't at all your fault—" Han corrected.

"—Still, if this holo ever became public, there would be big questions about why my parents didn't evacuate the planet before—"

"I can answer that," Han replied. "The Alliance was on the trail of the plans and it had people on the inside who got the info about Alderaan, Chandrila, and Commenor being on a kill list to your father. He makes any move that shows he knows that Alderaan could be in trouble, then the Empire immediately knows they have a mole. The spies get hunted down, the plans get heavier protection, and Alderaan is blown up like that," Han snapped his fingers. "He had to play the odds. And in a rotten way, he played the odds and won, because Alderaan was the only planet destroyed – and if he had clued the Empire in, I'm pretty sure Chandrila and Commenor would be gone too."

Leia kissed Han's cheek. "Your analysis seems sound, General. Thank you."

"Just tryin' to show your father, wherever he may be, that his daughter didn't make a totally bad move when she chose a husband."

"My father would have very quickly come to love you, Han," Leia thought about Bail's protectiveness, and how Han had, in a way, taken over that role immediately after Bail's death. "You're probably the only man in the galaxy more determined to protect me than he was. He would have adored that about you. And he would have truly enjoyed seeing my annoyance at that protectiveness being transferred from him to you. He likely would have thanked you for the breathing room."

Han laughed. He wasn't sure that winning Bail over would have been as easy as Leia claimed, but he did see in Bail a bit of a kindred spirit – a much more refined and genteel kindred spirit, but someone who also looked at the galaxy with a gimlet eye, someone who knew how to play the odds even when they were stacked against him.

"What about your mother?" Han asked.

"Winning over my mother would have been a somewhat more complicated process," Leia wrinkled her nose.

Han laughed out loud. "So you're saying 'never would've happened,' your diplomatic highnessness."

"Well….Bail was from a prominent family, but she was of the ruling House, and she had very definite ideas about nobility that my father didn't quite share. My father could pretty much talk her into anything, though."

"Just like I can talk you into anything."

"Yes, exactly like that," Leia rolled her eyes at her husband. "So my father would have talked her into your becoming Han Organa, Prince Consort." _That'll fix him for that comment_ …she thought.

"Consort," Han shuddered.

"That's the word you object to in that whole string? Consort?"

"I could be Han Organa. But 'consort' sounds like I'm your backroom floozy."

Leia, amused, appraised her husband. She never would have guessed that he wouldn't have objected to taking her name; that was certainly not the Corellian way of doing things. She wondered momentarily if she should broach a topic she'd begun to consider – the idea of her taking his name, an idea which she more and more liked. He hadn't raised the subject of what they were going to do with their names at all and it didn't seem to be on his mind now. He seemed to take it for granted that she would remain Organa, but she wasn't entirely sure that was what she wanted. _Oh well,_ she thought. _It doesn't need to be decided today_.

"This Wade Ullyris…" Han ventured.

"Let's not think about him yet. I'm going to pretend he's space dust until it's proven otherwise."

Han considered that for a moment, wondering if he should point out that she just might be compartmentalizing again. Then he suddenly remembered an old Corellian saying: don't worry about stepping in jutkmi kest until you see a jutkmi."

"You know what, sweetheart? I think you're pretty much right about that."

"I'm sure of it," she replied, playfully kissing the tip of her husband's nose, then letting her lips trail down to his and her hand slide under his shirt. "How much time do we have until…"

The Kanata began to beep its arrival alert.

"Not enough, unfortunately," Han stood up and took his wife's hand, leading her to the cockpit. While he was sorry he'd have to forgo the opportunity for an amorous romp with her, he was also fairly excited to arrive at their wedding trip destination…and to see Leia's reaction to it.

They slipped into their seats and silently went about the required steps to come out of hyperspace. Han snuck a glance over at Leia, who was diligently checking her controls, and grinned. She didn't have much experience in piloting, but she'd proven as quick a learner at this as she was at everything else she did. He liked the idea of someday traipsing around the galaxy with Leia at his side in life and in the cockpit. He didn't mean that as a slight to Chewie in any way, as Chewie would always be his first choice of copilot for the Falcon, but Han also intended to insist that, once their term of service to the Alliance ended, Chewie spend more time on Kashyyk with his own wife and cub. Chewie had been roaringly ecstatic to see his family when they arrived yesterday, and for the first time, Han understood exactly how Chewie felt. He had to find a way to convince Chewie that the life debt had been more than fully paid.

"Ready?" Han asked Leia as they hit their arrival coordinates.

"Confirmed," she replied.

"Ok, cut to sublight engines," Han ordered and they both pulled back on the throttles. The ship smoothly slowed to sublight, gliding along as if it hadn't been galloping through space and time just moments before.

"And here we are," Han said as he banked the Kanata to port and a small planet came into view. "Welcome to Taneras-2, Princess. Or as I used to call it, tan your ass."

Leia raised an eyebrow as she craned her neck to see over the ship. It was a small planet, its tropical atolls landmasses lush with greens peeking out from light turquoise waters. Thin clouds with an almost pinkish tinge dotted the atmosphere.

"It's beautiful," she said, adding, "did you tan your ass here a lot?"

"My ass has never tanned here before," Han promised, putting the Kanata into a descending orbit. "Chewie and me, when we were in the Spacer's Guild, used to fly supplies in – by the way, I decided to skip the satmall because they still have a store in the reception lodge where we can buy whatever we need. Anyway, when we couldn't be legit anymore, the couple who owns it asked us to keep working with them. We did – until we thought we were too dangerous for them to have around, so we taught their kids how to do the run while avoiding Imps, pirates, and all the other riff-raff out there."

"For someone who prided himself on being selfish, you were pretty horrible at it, Han," Leia observed.

"I was more than okay at it," he flashed her that endearing grin. "These people – my old clients - own the whole planet. One big secluded resort that caters mostly to Corellians."

Leia hesitated. "Han, I hate to ask this. But you do trust this couple, right?"

Han almost replied with a snarky remark, but quickly decided her question was eminently fair. He'd lost the right to be indignant about that question after Bespin.

"Yes," he replied definitively. "Mav and Zela Kenrek are good people. They always treated me better than I deserved. And I sent them an encrypt on the longtrans telling them I was coming with my wife so they know we're coming. Bet that shocked the daylights out of them on two levels – first, the idea that I had a wife, and second, because I didn't ever really hang around overnight here."

"Why?" Leia asked.

"'Cause the only time I did...let's just say you haven't lived until you've bunked in a romantic overwater podhouse at a romantic resort with a snoring and gassy Wookiee."

Leia burst out laughing. "So you're saying I can hardly be worse."

"Well, that's a given." Han fell silent, considering his next words.

"What?" Leia asked quizzically, sensing the sudden change in his mood.

"There's a little more to it, I guess, that made me decide we only stuck around here for a few hours at a time. When I was getting ready to leave the morning after I was nearly asphyxiated by my farting co-pilot, I stood out on the podhouse's balcony, looked around, and felt real jealous of any guy who could come to a place like this with a woman he truly loved. Because I figured that just wasn't gonna be in the sabacc deck for me."

Leia felt her throat tighten at his words. She wished that she could get up and embrace him, but she still had to keep an eye on her controls. She did have one hand free though, so she covered his hand, resting on the throttle, with hers.

"Then I am so very glad that we came here for our wedding trip," she said huskily.

"Me too, Leia," he replied. "Me too."

Gilding down into the landing pattern, Han guided the ship between the craggy tropical islands where pink sand beaches gave way to rocky hills filled with tropical plants and tumbling waterfalls as Leia felt the thrill of anticipation of two weeks alone with her husband in this place. _It's magical…_ she thought. _So peaceful and romantic and…well, and not requiring much in the way of clothing._

"Han?" she said moments before he feathered the Kanata down on a landing pad near several unobtrusive buildings built into the side of a tropical atoll. "This is going to be amazing."


	14. Chapter 14

Chapter 14

Lando held his breath as the _Bespin Dream_ came out of hyperspace just beyond the range of Cloud City's scanners. At least he hoped he was beyond the range of the scanners; there was not telling what kind of changes the Imps of the 331st Legion had implemented, given Madine's warnings about their calculated and vicious nature. After a few moments of tense silence, he engaged the sublight thrusters.

"Here we go," he muttered. "We should be in scan distance any minute."

He looked over at Wedge in the co-pilot's seat and did a quick double-take. They'd disguised themselves as Twi'leks while the _Dream_ coasted through hyperspace, and Wedge was altogether unrecognizable. He hoped he was too.

"What?" Wedge said, seeing Lando's glance. "I am going to be fighting off Twi'lek females left and right in those casinos."

"If you say so." Lando waited for Wedge to confirm that they'd _both_ be fighting off Twi'lek females. No confirmation was forthcoming.

"And me?" Lando prompted.

Wedge studied him closely. Yes, Lando looked Twi'lek – he had two very fancy lekka coming out of his head – but his dark brown eyes didn't quite fit the profile of a purple-hued Twi'lek. They most often had light eyes.

"Well…you can be my wingman," Wedge observed. "And maybe wear a sunshade halo if you can't deal with the eye dye."

"So I'm a blind Twi'lek? Is that even possible?"

Wedge pulled the halo out of his disguise bag and handed it to Lando, who clamped it around his head.

"Not blind. Your eyes were damaged and became light-sensitive after an unprovoked attack by a Kowakian monkey-lizard in a Hutt spice den. You were passed out stoned."

The comm beeped. An officious voice followed:

"Tekla Class battle cruiser, state your business."

Lando and Wedge tensed. Sneaking around was Solo's specialty; over the last month, Lando had become used to entering the fray with all guns blazing. He took a deep breath and called on his years of bluffing his way to some kind of success.

"Imperial control, this is Rylothian vessel Stalactis. We do regular business with Lyn Pinak's casinos in the Spire complex. Been blocked from making our usual shipments of _legal_ intoxicants—"

"Transmit your vessel's codes and then we'll decide whether or not we blow you out of the sky," came the clipped response.

Lando turned to Wedge and nodded. He'd always kept a few security override codes hidden in the Cloud City arrivals system, just in case one of his less trustworthy associates attempted a coup while he was off-system and locked him out. He dearly hoped the Imperials hadn't wiped the system, which was designed to scan whatever ship Lando was piloting and acknowledge that it had landing privileges. He dearly hoped that the Imperials hadn't wiped the system.

"Transmitting," Lando said. He shifted in his seat as the seconds ticked on. It did take the overrides a while to compute, but—

"Well," Wedge murmured quietly, "at least they haven't blown us out of the sky yet."

"No, we're good," Lando replied. "We'd be dead already if—"

The comm crackled.

"Rylothian vessel Stalactis, your code checks."

"Thank y—"

"We are in the process of confirming with your buyers at the Spire. Please provide your identification and that of your co-pilot."

Lando froze; he hadn't expected a second level of clearances. Lyn Pinak, certainly, would not collaborate too closely with the Imperials, as he didn't like bullies. He felt a momentary wave of shame wash over him; he should have been more like Lyn. Perhaps if he were…well, if he were, there was no telling if Cloud City would now be a smoking ruin, so no point in brooding on the past.

Suddenly, another voice came over the comm. "This is Kambri Pinak. Who are you and what business did you have with my father?"

Lando's mouth went dry. His relationship with Kambri had been…complicated. Complicated enough that it had involved a wedding ceremony, a brief and misbegotten marriage, and a quick separation. Lyn had rolled his eyes at the whole thing. Kambri had, Lando thought, left Cloud City for good. She would of course recognize his voice as soon as he spoke, but whether she'd side with him or sell him out to the Empire was an open question. Or would she play coy and then do the same thing he'd done to Han? He'd have to take that risk, as it was too late to turn tail and haul out of here.

"This is T'cala Far with my associate Yiv Stahl. I've done business with your father for many years, dating back to the Battle of Tenaab." He hoped that reminding Kambri that he'd once saved her father's hide would earn him a few points. "The uncertainty of the shipping lanes between Kessel and the Anoat system due to major Rebellion attacks on the Empire have delayed my shipment – the usual supply of intoxicants – but I'm here to deliver."

He did indeed have a supply of intoxicants hidden in the below-deck compartments. The Alliance likely wouldn't be thrilled if it looked at everything he was carrying, but none of it was illegal on Bespin. Then again, almost nothing was illegal on Bespin, which was both one of the best and one of the worst things about the place.

Kambri remained silent. _Pleeease_ , thought Lando, _pleeeease give me the chance—_

"Yeah, landing bay, they're my suppliers. Clearly not very good ones," Kambri added, "but let 'em land. T'Cala, you should know that you're gonna find Cloud City changed since the last time we saw you. And you should know," she paused for a moment, "Lyn is dead."

With that, she clicked off the comm, leaving Lando speechless as the Imperial officers directed the _Bespin Dream_ toward the East Platform. Lyn…dead. Lyn was the heart of Cloud City. Lando may have been the administrative brains, but it was Lyn who knew nearly everybody and their story. _Maybe_ , Lando reflected, _that was the problem. The Imperials wanted stories Lyn wasn't willing to tell_ …

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

As the Imperial troops who had overseen the offloading of his shipment led him through the City, Lando tried not to look too curious or too heartsick. Twi'leks didn't show much emotion as a species unless they were in life or death situations; their lekkas indicated a heightened awareness when they were curious or scoping out an area, but, unfortunately, the lekkas he and Wedge were wearing had no human neural interface. So although he observed his surroundings with an immobile sabacc face, he could feel his chest tightening at the destruction brought upon this beautiful place.

Cloud City had always been a place of outward calm, despite the casinos high in the Spires and the active tibanna gas mining operations below. Its citizens, largely ex-pats from homeworlds all over the galaxy, tended to keep their histories and careers vague, and that suited Lando just fine, as long as they didn't bring trouble with them, which they rarely did. But now the corridors were deserted and dirty. Occasionally citizens walked by, usually looking strained and gaunt, keeping their eyes to the ground and avoiding any unnecessary contact with the Imperials.

"It's quiet here," Wedge observed dispassionately, tossing his lekka over his shoulder. "It used to be a very busy place."

"This city was home to many who were wanted by the Empire. We did a thorough vetting of the remaining populace when we assumed control," the low-level Imperial officer escorting them through the city said, proudly. "And, although their leader, Calrissian, escaped to the Rebels and too many of his citizens did as well, we separated the remaining traitors and criminals from the low-level operators fairly quickly, with the _…_ help…of some of the city's more prominent citizens."

Lando thought briefly of the torture chamber that Vader had built, and likely left behind, and the carbon-freezing chamber below. He wondered they had tortured Lyn on that rack to get the information they wanted from him; he wondered if the carbonite was how Lyn met his end, as it had been unduly fascinating to the Imperials. He wondered how many of his friends and associates and neighbors had ended up in these rooms and how many were bundled into Imperial prison transports bound for Golgoth or sold to slavers.

"The remaining citizenry seems to spend most of their time imbibing in intoxicants or inhaling spice while losing what remains of their fortunes in the casinos that you supply. Given that the casinos are now under our control, that suits us quite well.

 _I'll bet it does_ …Lando thought. He'd be willing to bet that ninety percent of every credit laid on a table or swiped through an autoslot was going to the Empire. Same with the profits on intoxicants and spice. Funny how the Empire only objected to spice when it wasn't receiving the vast majority of the profits.

"You are on your own from here," the officer told them. "Your permission to remain on Bespin is good for seventy-two hours, after which, should you not have reported to the East Platform for departure, you will be hunted down and shot on sight. Understood?"

"Entirely," said Wedge as the lift doors closed on the two Twi'leks and their supply of intoxicants. Wedge scratched his forehead; these fake lekka were itchy and hot. "So much for low-profile reconnaissance only. That plan went out the window quicker than usual."

"Yeah," agreed Lando. "And I've got a bad feeling about this."

With that, the lift doors opened onto the loading dock of the casino. Lando stepped out cautiously, noticing immediately that an Ugnaught working the dock had begun to sniff the air. _He knows my scent,_ thought Lando, _or at least he knows I'm not a Twi'lek._

As Lando pondered what sort of trouble suspicious Ugnaughts could cause him, a human fist connected with his jaw and sent him splaying to the ground.


	15. Chapter 15

Chapter 15

 _It's quiet in here…_ Leia thought as they entered the rotunda of the Welcome Building. _Too quiet_ , she added, noticing that the few stores off the rotunda were dark.

She looked up at Han, concerned, and saw that he was suddenly alert as well. As he reached down quietly and unholstered his blaster, Leia reached down to the leg holster she was wearing and did likewise.

"You sure this place is still in operation?" she asked quietly.

"I got a confirm back yesterday when I commed them, so somebody was here—"

"Unless they left in a hurry and a droid is still handling reservations."

Han nodded as he scanned the rotunda. He didn't see anything out of the ordinary: no signs of a fight or a gun battle, no signs of theft, no looting of the stores, but still…no people.

"If there were Imperials here we'd be prisoners by now and if there were pirates, we'd be dead."

Leia nodded and then tentatively tried to reach out with the Force. She wasn't at all sure of herself, but she could have sworn that she felt—

"Solo, is that you?" a voice boomed over the building's intercom.

Han exhaled, lowering his blaster. "Yeah, Mav, it's me. What in the seven hells—"

"The last time I saw you, what did you tell my kids never to do?" Mav quizzed.

"Never get into business with a Hutt, no matter how tough it got to get supplies to this place," Han replied.

"Good advice," Leia murmured sarcastically.

Suddenly, a hidden door in the wall opened, revealing a safe room behind it, and a tall, white-bearded man strode out, followed by a striking woman with long silver hair, strategically braided to keep it from becoming too unruly.

"Solo, when I got that transmission with your ID code after all these years, I thought someone had stolen it, and when I saw a Kenata drop into the landing pattern with your ID code, I was sure of it." He clapped Han on the back in a fatherly way before squeezing his shoulder. "It's good to see you, kid."

"You too, Mav," Han leaned over to kiss the woman with Mav. "And you too, Zelis."

Han led them over toward Leia, who had held back, allowing these three to have their reunion and also, were she being honest with herself, to evaluate the Kenreks, as Han's tolerance for all sorts of sentients with "interesting" ethics remained much higher than hers. But she felt no warning alarms going off in her mind with these two. All she could see was their deep happiness at seeing Han again. So the Kenreks were more than okay with her.

"Mav, Zelis," Han said as Leia noticed a slight flush on is cheeks. She found it adorably boyish that Han found it nerve-wracking to introduce his wife to his friends. "I want to introduce you to someone. This is my wife, L—"

"Your Highness!" exclaimed Zelis, dropping into a deep curtsey.

Mav looked around, flustered, then awkwardly bowed. Han elbowed him in the ribs.

"You're Corellian, you big dope," Han muttered. "You don't need to bow."

"Nor do you," Leia said, holding her hand out to Zelis, who hesitated before taking Leia's offered hand and straightening up. "And call me Leia. No one so happy to see my husband ever need think of me as anything but a friend. Friends use first names, no matter what their titles, and in any event, we're not Princess and citizen any longer. We're both simply refugees from a lost world.."

Han looked at Leia, who was once again taking his breath away. Sure, he'd seen her working with other Alderaanians in the Alliance, and they did give her a certain level of deference, but there the lines of command were strictly drawn, and even Leia's title did not exempt her from the chain of command. He'd never seen her interact with a civilian who considered herself one of Leia's subjects. This was yet another facet of his wife's complicated life, and as Leia called Zelis a friend, Han was reminded of the holo he'd just watched with her. Leia was in many ways very much like Bail, but in her interaction with Zelis, Han saw the influence and the gentility of Queen Breha. He was reminded yet again that he'd married a spectacular woman.

"I'm not sure I can call you by your given name," Leia admitted. "We may have to compromise at Princess."

Leia smiled. "At least until I convince you otherwise."

"You could always go with 'Your Worship,'" Han interjected.

Leia raised an eyebrow to Zelis, who smiled in return, recognizing the galaxy-wide female shorthand for "see what I put up with?"

"Han Solo, Alliance General," Mav noted as he counted the bars on Han's collar, although it was actually Lando's jacket, "and husband to royalty. Unbelievable. It truly is a different galaxy today, isn't it?"

"It's true, isn't it?" Zelis asked. "Coruscant has fallen, and Corellia—"

"Yes," Han replied. "The Alliance send forces to Corellia yesterday to help reclaim the shipyards."

Mav smiled. "How'd they keep you out of that battle?"

Han rubbed his cheek, feeling the bruise throb. In different circumstances, he would have felt guilty about not heading to the shipyards. "We were both injured in the battle for Coruscant – Leia worse than me. We couldn't be much use in battle right now."

Mav looked Han over. Yes, the kid did look a little worse for wear. There was bruising down his cheek and he seemed a little stiff when he moved. Tired eyes, too. Mav didn't know if all the rumors he'd heard over the last years were true, but, if any of them were, Han owed his state to more than a battle injury. He didn't know much about the Princess, but she too looked a little bit wan as far as he could tell.

"I've got the perfect place for you, then. All the Corellians raced out of here like mynocks from a-"

"-slug's' belly," Leia murmured-

"-I was thinking cave, but that works too," Mav laughed, before continuing his story about the Corellian exodus, "when they heard about the battle on Corellia, so I can give you the whole southwest archipelago. The healing pools are over there. You could probably both use some time in them."

"That sounds great, pal," Han replied. "You're right. We could use them. There's something else we need to buy, though."

"You're not buying, we're wedding gifting—"

"Naw, pal, we're buying," Han said, "but the one thing we could really use is some clothes. Because what you're lookin' at is all we got."

Zelis nodded; this was her specialty. "Follow me, Princess. Mav can take care of Han."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Han followed as Mav unlocked the door to the small shop that carried men's recreation clothes.

"I need to ask you for help with somethin' else, too," Han said quietly, after making sure Leia and Zelis were out of earshot.

"Shoot," Mav answered, looking at his friend quizzically.

Han nodded at the jewelry kiosk. "I need you and Zelis to try to get your hands on an Alderaanian engagement band and two Alderaanian wedding rings."

Mav whistled. "You're totally smitten, Solo." He waggled his own empty ring finger. "Even Zelis couldn't convince this Corellian to wear a ring."

"You gonna help me or give me a hard time?" Han shot back as he quickly chose a pair of dark swim trunks from the rack.

"Both," Mav parried. "You know her ring size?"

Han shook his head as he grabbed a few cototh short-sleeved shirts.

"Ok, so it will have to be self-snugging. You know YOUR ring size?"

Han snorted.

"You're not making this easy, Solo. So they all need to be self-snugging. What about her favorite gemstone?"

"Uhhnh," Han said, sheepishly. He really hadn't thought this through so well. "What kind of gemstones were big on Alderaan?" He grabbed a few more items of clothing and joined Mav at the counter.

"Your wife talked you into wearing a ring and she didn't even tell you what kind she wanted?"

Han dropped his clothes on the counter and averted his eyes; he was about to look like the galaxy's biggest sap, but it couldn't be helped. "She hasn't said anything about wanting a ring. This is all me."

Mav's jaw dropped open. To say that he was surprised was an understatement, but there it was. Then he caught the embarrassment on his younger friend's face and realized that Han needed his help, not his needling. Solo and his back-channel ways of getting things done had, after all, been a godsend to them for many years while they struggled to keep Taneras afloat and off the radar of the Empire.

"Well," Mav said. "Congratulations, you've managed to do the impossible. You've shocked me into silence for a second or two."

"Maybe this is a dumb idea." Han's resolve wavered. Leia may not like whatever rings he got anyway, and then he'd look not only like a sap, but like a sap with shitty taste.

"It's not a dumb idea," Mav corrected. "It's a great idea. And one which will likely make Zelis, after thirty years of marriage, start hocking me about rings again. Thanks for that."

Han grinned. "Sorry, pal."

Mav shrugged. He'd wear a ring if it made his wife happy. Maybe he'd present it as a thirtieth anniversary present a few months down the road. "So what do you know about the Princess' taste in jewelry?"

"Not much," Han acknowledged. "She doesn't run around in jewels while in battle, and any jewels she did have were blown to smithereens on Alderaan, so I never saw 'em. But—" Han hesitated, not sure what Mav may have heard about Han's last year, "she bartered away a chalcedony bracelet last year when I was in trouble with Jabba. And I know she has a necklace that went with it."

"I heard rumors about that – about Jabba catching up to you."

"Probably what you heard is true."

"How'd you get out of that one?"

"My friends in the Alliance; mostly Leia and her—" he caught himself before saying "her brother" in reference to Luke, "-closest allies. Leia, well, Jabba took her prisoner and she choked him to death with the chain he was using to bind her."

Mav whistled. "I'll remember not to cross her. Tough girl."

"You have no idea."

"Then I say we're talking chalcedony bands with stones from the firestone family. Firestones are just what they sound like – they look like a fire, red in the center, flaring out to orange then the pale yellow around the edges. And they were mined mostly from Alderaan's south pole area. You need two stones, because Alderaanian women always wear a wedding ring with two side-by-side gems that are joined by the center of an infinity symbol encircling the stones. The engagement ring is plain – just a chalcedony band. Your wedding ring will be a chalcedony band with a firestone edging to match her ring. Don't worry, it looks plain until you get really close."

Han nodded; he liked the sound of that, he just hoped that Leia did too, because when, on the trip to Bespin, he'd asked her for her favorite color, she'd shrugged and said "any color that isn't white," as she was so very tired of wearing the traditional white worn by unmarried female members of the Alderaanian ruling house. Maybe she'd be happy with any color, and this ring offered several. And, he supposed, he could change the stones later if she really didn't like them.

"Okay, let's go with that," Han agreed. "Do you think you can swing it?"

"Hope so," Mav shrugged. "I'll get a comm to Kenti and Becker. They're out on a supply run on Alidix-3. Alderaanian jewelry is getting harder to find – and expensive."

"Like how expensive?" Han asked, thinking about how many credits he'd be spending this week.

"I'll tell them to bargain like a Toydarian, but we're probably talking $2,000 credits for the whole set."

 _Holy hells, 2000 credits_ …Han thought. _Those are some pricey rings_. He took a deep breath before answering. "I can swing that. Turns out Leia saved me from emptying the last of my credit bank to Jabba.

He thought briefly of all the payments he'd made to Jabba over the past three years – nearly everything he'd made doing contract work for the Alliance, and at least three times the amount he'd agreed on in settlement of his debt with Jabba before he'd left Tatooine with Luke and Ben Kenobi. But the last twenty thousand credits he'd hoarded and intended to show up in person to try to pay after leaving Hoth still sat safely in his credit bank. He wondered momentarily if the Alliance did intend to pay its officers now that it held onto the Imperial treasury, assuming they ever figured out how to unlock the funds, as someone had done an excellent job of slicing, recoding and masking the Empire's credit banks during the fall of Coruscant. He hoped the did intend to start paying their leadership, and fast, as Han was pretty sure that the 20,000 credits he had in the bank was all he and Leia had between them, and they'd be down to 17,000 after this trip and the rings.

"Swing that?" Mav joked. "You married poverty-stricken royalty?"

"Yeah," Han replied. "I did. Everything she had – it's all either pledged to the Alliance or gone. Started the war a wealthy princess on a Core world, ended it as a penniless refugee married to me," he smirked. "Not quite a fair trade." He handed Mav his creditor for the escrow on the rings along with the fifteen credits for the clothes he'd bought.

"Solo," Mav said while swiping the creditor and surreptitiously discounting the clothes by fifty percent, "I'm gonna bet it was the best trade that girl ever made."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Leia placed a pale blue gauze blouse on top of the growing pile of clothes on the counter. She had to admit she was enjoying shopping for clothes with no regard for color – _well, actually_ , she thought, _with all sorts of regard for color._ Nothing on the pile was white, and she intended it to stay that way. Looking at the clothes, she smiled at Zelis.

"I bet my husband finished shopping ages ago and spent about twenty credits."

Zelis laughed. "You might be overestimating how much he spent – both time and credits, Princess."

"You're right," Leia answered, remembering that she only had about seven hundred credits hidden away under an anonymous name in her credit bank. Not that she'd spend nearly that much on clothing, but she had something else she wanted to ask Zelis.

As she heard Han's boots clomping through the lobby, she knew her question would have to wait, and she moved on to the second-to-last item on her list: swimgear. It looked like she'd have to forego the last item, lingerie, as Zelis didn't seem to carry any, which may have been for the best. Leia wasn't entirely sure how an Alderaanian would react if Leia had to ask her exactly how certain pieces of lingerie were supposed to be worn. She wasn't sure exactly how Alderaanians would react to a lot of things they'd be hearing about her soon. One of those things, she wasn't able to share. On the other, though, she decided Zelis would be an excellent sounding board.

"So what do you think opinion of my marriage will be among the Alderaanian refugees?" she asked as she browsed through the swimgear, noticing that much of it consisted of skimpy string two-pieces, which she wasn't sure she felt comfortable wearing, given her only past experience with bikinis.

"Truthfully, Princess?"

Leia nodded.

"I think some will be unpleasant and angry – at least among the class of Alderaanians most likely to speak their mind to you, or to speak their mind publicly. And for many reasons, I think you should tell them to go to the seven hells."

"Agreed," Leia sighed. "Particularly about the seven hells. But –" she hesitated. She'd heard Zelis comment about a "class" of Alderaanians. Yes, Alderaan had a royal family, and nobles surrounding it, but outside the four noble houses and their members, Alderaan had prided itself for centuries on maintaining a society where, by law and by traditions, citizens were not stratified by wealth or social status. It was perhaps the major reason Alderaan had always looked down upon Corellia, with its strict class system, wherein everyone was trapped by the circumstances of their birth. Leia and Bail had often talked of Bail's fears that they could no longer claim Alderaan's society to be without class distinctions. In the waning days of the Republic in which Bail had come of age, and in the days of the Empire in which they lived, they had seen class warfare emerging among the people. First, career politicians began to amass wealth which did not come from their salary in government, but in underhanded dealings that brought them wealth under the table. Then, those willing to collaborate with Imperials in order to preserve their personal security saw their fortunes rise, and as the Empire was nothing if not socially stratified, a nasty strain of self-importance arose in those collaborators, followed by both anger and, likely, a bit of jealousy in those who had refused to collaborate and suffered personal and financial struggles as a result.

"You mentioned class-" Leia began.

Zelis flushed, but her face quickly hardened. "Yes, Princess. I'm aware that Alderaan has prided itself on its refusal to define people by class, but that belief had become a delusion. I'm sorry to be so blunt, but it is one of the reasons I left.

"Don't apologize. My father didn't believe that Alderaan could truly hold to that belief anymore either. I was still too young to be able to come to my own conclusions, although I admit I never found my father to be wrong on questions of our society." She sensed that she was making Zelis uncomfortable, so although she wanted to question her further about her thoughts of Alderaan, its refugees, and class, she bit her curious tongue. "In any event, I'm sure the politicos will have plenty to say about my marriage and everything else, if any of them survived the war and surface."

She looked down at a very skimpy golden two-piece. She knew that Han would adore the thing, and she knew that the times in her life she would be able to pull off swimgear like that would be very limited. Now was one of those times, but it reminded her too deeply of her humiliation at the hands of Jabba. She had to get past that, somehow. Maybe if it were available in a different color, a bright pink or a royal blue…just not gold.

Zelis watched the Princess gnawing on her lip about the admittedly tiny swimsuit. It intrigued her that the Princess was considering it so seriously; even she, who happily abandoned Alderaan and its conservative modes of dress, would have passed on that suit as a young woman. _Leia,_ Zelis decided, _is a much more interesting woman than I would have expected._

"You could try it on and see," Zelis offered. "I know it's probably more…overt…than anything you've ever worn."

"Unfortunately, it's not," Leia said quietly, still studying the bikini. "I was taken prisoner at Jabba's place and…let's just say he likes dancing girls. And he likes to choose their attire and have them dressed in it in front of all his cronies."

 _The poor girl…_ thought Zelis. It would have been a terrifying humiliation for any woman. But for a young woman who'd grown up as Leia had, it was unimaginable.

Leia exhaled hard. No, she couldn't wear this, even if it felt like Han had been the only man in the galaxy NOT to see her in that damn bikini. She didn't notice Han striding up next to her.

"How about his one instead of torturing yourself for my benefit," said Han as he picked up a very athletic-looking two-piece and put it on the rack in front of the gold bikini.

She stood on her toes to kiss his cheek. "Thanks, Han."

"Besides," he said, loudly enough for Zelis and, likely, Mav, to hear. "I already know what you look like under your clothes."

She shook her head. "Maybe you could announce that over the loudspeaker."

"What, like it's a surprise to anybody?" He shot a big grin over at Zelis, who busied herself folding Leia's clothes. _All the decent Corellian men are cut from the same cloth_ , Zelis thought. _Loud, show-offy, and deeply kind, although they'd rather die than admit to that last one_.

"Han, is this your way of telling me you're ready to go?" Leia asked.

"Yep. Mav 'n me have everything set. Ship's loaded with all the supplies we'll need."

"Ok, I'll be right out. I'm just finishing up."

Han nodded and, before he walked out, pointed to the athletic swimgear again. "This one, not that one, okay, Leia?" he said softly.

She nodded, seeing the concern in his eyes and adoring him for it. With that confirmation, he was on his way. Leia picked up two of the athletic suits and headed for the counter.

"And that," she said, "is one of the many reasons any Alderaanian who wants to complain about my marriage to a 'low-class Corellian' can jump in a pile of kest, and preferably choke on it."

Zelis laughed, both in agreement and at Leia's salty words, and Leia suddenly knew she had made herself a new friend in this other Alderaanian married to a Corellian. It gave her confidence to ask her next question.

"Zelis," she asked, "there's something I've been wondering. Is there anything I should be doing, anything I should be getting him as a wedding present or anything? I know they don't exchange rings, but if Corellians have a marriage tradition, I don't know it and couldn't find it in the data stores I accessed. If there is a tradition…I need to know it. I need him to know this marriage isn't going to be all about me, and about Alderaan and its traditions."

Zelis remembered her own questions from the early days of her marriage to Mav, and she saw that same concern in the Princess' face. She recognized that she was looking at another young, motherless bride who was trying to get her marriage off on the best foot. Although she wasn't entirely sure that the Princess would appreciate her next words, she decided to take that risk.

"Princess, I can't speak for much, but I can speak to ways of making a Corellian man very happy. Fortunately, they – like all men – are simple creatures, and Corellians in general don't put much weight on rings, or commitment bands or, thankfully, multiple piercings like those insane Trenids."

Leia snorted. She'd never say it publicly, but those Trenid marital piercings _were_ insane – and looked painful.

"They're warm-blooded creatures – both literally and figuratively. Let them know they're loved. Even though they're not the most verbal men in the galaxy, they do like to hear it. But Corellians are a people of action more than words, and they like it when you show it, by something as simple as holding hands or touching their arm in public. Some physical expression of closeness that you'd be unlikely to see at home. And, I have to admit, wearing a little lingerie – little being the operative word – maybe more often than you'd wish, and enjoying your sex life in a way that's more…what, more…" she looked for the right words, "a personal expression of love than the biological reality we considered it to be on Alderaan. That seems simple, but I know first-hand that being open about our love, and about our desires, can be a tall order for someone from our cold-blooded culture."

"I can do that," Leia said, blushing a bit. Nothing Zelis told her seemed like it was going to be at all difficult. _Maybe,_ she thought, _because I'm not truly Alderaanian_. "But I was looking for lingerie and—"

 _Good for you_ , thought Zelis. _Too many Alderaanian women would have turned her right off for that statement, looking down their nose at the physicality of hot-blooded Corellians instead of enjoying it. Of course_ , she recalled, _Viceroy Organa and Queen Breha, despite the fact that their marriage had been arranged, did seem to be very much in love. So perhaps Leia hadn't experienced the polite distance between spouses that marked so many Alderaanian marriages._

"Well," said Zelis. "There are some cultures that find the public sale of lingerie, even to married women, to be inappropriate. So to preserve everyone's modesty…" she pushed a few buttons on the counter and beckoned Leia into the hidden room that had been suddenly revealed.

Curiously, Leia followed her in and smiled brightly when she saw all the gossamer, shimmersilk, and lace. "Oh!" she grinned, then looked down and saw something that seemed to be made entirely of rancor skin and mynock tails. "Oh," she said in an altogether different tone as Zelis, watching her, stifled a laugh at the Princess' suddenly furrowed brow.

"Princess," Zelis said, "that's not human attire."

"Oh thank gods," Leia breathed, as a pale pink lace teddy caught her eye.

MMMMMMMMMMMMMM

A half-hour later, Zelis and Mav stood on the deck waving as the Kenata took off for the southwest quadrant.

"Mav," Zelis asked, "why were you so insistent that we get together for dinner next week? They're on their wedding trip for heavens' sake."

Mav turned to his wife. "Solo asked me to find matching rings for them. Want to get them to him. Besides, the kids will be back and you know he and the kids will want to see each other."

"That's lovely, honey," Zelis replied. "And while you're at it, I wear a size 1.3 band."


	16. Chapter 16

Chapter 16

Leia hurried down the gangway as soon as it hit the ground, her hair whipping behind her in the breeze as she trotted along the pathway through the lush tropical plants between the landing pad and their pod and private beach. Once she felt the soft, pink sand between her toes, she smiled with glee. Just around one more corner, and there it was: the turquoise-blue water of the bay, with gentle waves lapping at the shore. Their podhut built out over the water. Two weeks of this with Han.

She breathed deeply, inhaling the salty ocean air, while taking in the view of lush, green atolls, some with waterfalls tumbling down hundreds of feet into the sea, against the setting sun. She didn't think she'd ever seen anything more beautiful.

"Han, where are you?" she called out, turning to look at the pathway. "You're going to miss my first-ever mad dash into an ocean if you don't get out here. I'm not sure I can wait much longer."

"Cool your jets, I'm coming," joked her husband, as he appeared from the flora, a pallet droid filled with the boxes carrying their clothes, food, and drink behind him. Han turned to his wife after instructing the droid to unpack their gear in the pod. "Not all of us could change into our swimgear as soon as we took off from Mav's place."

Leia grinned again. He did look, well, delectable in swim shorts and nothing else, although the bright pink new skin on his chest stood out like a constant reminder that they were both still healing. He was ok for now, given that the sun was going down, but she'd probably have to be all over him to wear a tee-shirt, in addition to taking the sun-blocker tablets they'd bought, when the sun was at its peak.

"Ok, this is it, Solo. I'm going in," she said, before turning toward the boardwalk that led to their pod. He watched admiringly as she ran down the boardwalk, her lemon-yellow racer two-piece thankfully hiding none of her lithe figure. The he too set off at a run, because if she was hitting the water, so was he.

He caught up to her and managed to grab her hand just as she jumped feet-first from the boardwalk into the waters, taking him with her. It wasn't very deep, he realized as his feet hit the bottom before his head went under. Of course, it was plenty deep for a short person like his wife, who bobbed to the surface with a brilliant smile. He pulled her toward him.

"Like it here?" his voice rumbled against her neck as he kissed it, his hands brushing against the bare skin at her waist.

"It's perfect," she breathed, feeling a small shiver of pleasure at the lazy circles his fingers were tracing. "It's like something out of the most perfect dream. I almost can't believe we're really here." She turned to Han, a mischievous look on her face. "So, I guess I'm going to have to do this" – she splashed water at her husband, adamant that he'd get his hair wet—"to prove it's real."

Han laughed; this was what he wanted to give her room to be over the next few weeks: herself, in all its facets, without any obligatory artifice.

"Well," he drawled, brushing a tripping tendril of hair from his forehead. "I was about to get all mushy and romantic, but if you're gonna insist on being trouble, I guess I'll just have to do this—" With that, he picked her up and tossed her into the water with a splash.

"Oh,' she replied, laughing and raising an eyebrow as she separated the long curtain of wet hair covering her face and expertly twirled it into a bun, "you are in trouble now, nerfherder."

As she dove under the water, Han thought, in the seconds before his wife pulled his legs right out from under him, that Leia was trouble of the very best kind.

NNNNNNNNNNNNNNNNN

"Are you staying in there all night?" Han called from the bedroom of their pod. He couldn't deny that the fresher was ultra-luxurious, and he had a few thoughts about things a certain married couple could do in that rainwater shower outside and the oversized whirlpool tub in the fresher that had nothing to do with getting clean. In fact, he considered, they could get very, very dirty. He chuckled to himself at his private joke and grabbed a medrang date from the platter of food he'd thrown together while Leia had escaped to the fresher to get the saltwater out of her hair.

But she was seriously taking too long. She was about to miss the spectacular Taneras moonrise, that moment when the three small satellite moons rose one after the other in the west, turning the dark of the planet's evening sky into a romantic half hour filled with moonlight dancing off the water.

"You didn't fall INTO the fresher, did you?" he called out.

In the fresher, Leia gave herself a critical look-over in the mirror. "You are an impatient man," she called back, pinning up just enough of her loosely-curled locks to keep her hair out of her face.

"The moons are about to rise," Han warned. "You're gonna miss it."

She intended that they would both miss it. The hour of alternately roughhousing, floating lazily in Han's arms, and engaging in deep, languid kisses had sent her libido into overdrive. She had planned to wear a very feminine, very pale pink shimmersilk and chiffon peignoir on their first night on-planet, because it struck her as the kind of wedding night lingerie she would have worn a few nights ago had she actually had that option. But that hour in the water had utterly changed her plans, sending her sneaking off to the fresher with a deep scarlet number that was one of several more risqué pieces she'd picked, even though she was unsure that she'd actually wear them.

 _Yet here I am three hours later wearing it…_ she looked at her reflection in the mirror, making sure that she looked sexy, not ridiculous, in the corset that ended in a lacy balconette bra with half cups that, she laughed to herself, were absurdly pointless when it came to doing anything that bras were actually supposed to do, like cover her nipples or provide any support. _Clearly this bra has an altogether different kind of function…_

"Leia…" Han sighed from the bedroom. "Wrap yourself in a towel and get out here. I'm hungry."

He was so enjoying his whining that he didn't hear Leia open the door to the fresher and lean against the bedroom door frame. "So you're hungry, are you, flyboy?" she said in a husky voice. "Maybe I can help you with that…"

Han looked up to see Leia lounging in the doorway, a seductive smile on her face, and… _holy kriff._ All the blood rushed from Han's face to his nether regions as he stared, dumbstruck, at the vision in a crimson bustier, lace panties, and stiletto heels in the doorway.

"Maybe I'm not as hungry – for food – as I thought," Han replied. "Maybe I'm hungry for something else."

She ambled across the room, thinking to herself that it was a good thing it was a short walk from door to bed, because she wasn't entirely sure she could keep her balance in these stilettos for very long, and climbed onto her husband's lap, straddling him and feeling his arousal grow beneath her as she reached for one of the sugar figs on the platter next to him, taking a bite of it before rubbing it against Han's lip.

"So you were hurrying me when I was getting ready, and you weren't actually hungry?" she asked.

"A mistake I'll never make again. This is definitely worth waiting for." He opened his mouth for the fig, but Leia popped it into her own mouth instead.

"That'll teach you to be nice," she parried, grinding her hips against him and feeling him inhale sharply in response.

"How often do I have to tell you I'm nice men?" he replied, as his hands found their way to the laces in front of her corset and started to loosen them.

"I hate to tell you this," she said, locking her hands in his tousled hair and tilting his face up to hers, luxuriating in the feeling of his warm breath on her neck. "The laces are just for show – the clasps in the back are what you're looking for."

As aroused as he was, he couldn't help but laugh. "Leave it to you to find red-hot lingerie that plays hard to get."

"Who's playing?" She looked at him innocently, but soon laughed at the incredulous look on his face. "Maybe I was hard to get. I'm not so hard to get anymore, am I?" She turned around, giving him greater access to the back of the corset, and ground her hips into his again, this time provoking a deep groan from him as she grasped his thighs.

He made short work of the clasps, and soon enough every stitch of their clothing was scattered on the floor – except the heels.

"Leave them on," Han ordered as Leia looked up at him in surprise.

"Kink," she murmured as he tossed her hair over one shoulder and started kissing the other.

"I'm not the one who walked in in stilettos," he whispered.

"I'd hope not, given the size of your feet," she replied, shivering with delicious anticipation as the hair on his chest tickled her back, as his hands made their way down to toy with her, hinting of intense pleasure to come.

"You know what they say about men with big feet," Han parried, just as a shaft of gentle light gleamed through the glass roof of the pod, catching them in its beam.

Leia turned toward her husband. "Guess we're missing the moonrise."

"It can wait until tomorrow."

"It's going to have to. Because something else has already risen," she grinned, "and I find that something much more intriguing."

MMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM

Leia ran her fingers through the hair on Han's chest as they lay, face-to-face, under the light of the three moons beaming down on them through the clear roof of their podhouse. He sighed contentedly at her touch, figuring that he probably looked just as dreamy and sated as she did.

"Did I surprise you with that?" Leia asked, nodding her head in the direction of the corset, which had found its way to one of the bedposts.

"That you chose to wear this? A little," Han admitted. "That you have an incredibly intense passionate side? No, not at all. I've been pretty confident about that for years. But the way I figured it, you found that lingerie intimidating, and since you refuse to be intimidated by anything for very long, you accepted your own challenge and went with your sexiest nightie."

"You were doing a lot of thinking for someone whose blood had places to be other than his brain."

Han laughed. "Ok, I mostly came up with that on the fly right now. But I did wonder if Zelis said anything to get you into that."

Leia thought for a moment. "We talked a little about the Alderaanian woman – Corellian man combination…."

 _Now THAT is something I'm going to need to hear about…_ Han thought.

"But she didn't say anything I wasn't already thinking about on my own…because to be honest, I almost thought I was going to knock you over and demand to have my way with you on the beach tonight, that's how badly I wanted you."

"I wouldn't have objected."

"Maybe tomorrow," she grinned, teasing him. "Wasn't sure I wanted to get sand in my vagina tonight." As soon as the words were out of her mouth, she started laughing, because she knew Han wasn't going to be able to resist—

"I've seen you with sand in your vagina lotsa times."

"I walked right into that. Lobbed an easy pitch right at the ringer," she sighed, cuddling up to him as he rolled over onto his side. "Enjoy it while you can, because eventually I'll get enough sleep to start winning all our verbal contretemps again."

She nuzzled into the warmth of his body, feeling her eyelids getting heavy with sleep. "I love you."

"I know. I love you back."

"I know."


End file.
